Convener of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM) and Member National Assembly Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has apologised for his party’s “misjudgment” during the May 12 tragedy that saw dozens of people lose their lives to riots in Karachi, a news outlet reported on Thursday.
On May 12, 2007, the deposed chief justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, was scheduled to visit the city and take part in a function of the Sindh High Court Bar Association. Members of civil society, including lawyers, were not allowed to reach the airport to welcome the then chief justice, thus leading to clashes between the supporters of the judge and the then-MQM activists. Nearly 50 people lost their lives and hundreds of others were wounded during riots on that day.
According to the report, Siddiqui, on Thursday, expressed his regret on the incident while addressing a gathering organised by the Balochistan High Court Bar in Quetta. He conceded that the MQM’s image was tarnished in the wake of the May 12 clashes.
“MQM should have tendered an apology and I apologise for that. And this apology is for making a wrong judgment,” he told the gathering.
“We had been used and we regret that but that was not our intention and this is not how we function as a party,” he insisted.
Siddiqui admitted that MQM-P had “slightly weakened ideologically”. However, he expressed hope that his party would again produce a new crop of young leaders who will “prove to be the future of the country”.
