KARACHI, Oct 4: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement on Friday alleged that “armed terrorists” were roaming about in what it called the “no-go” areas, and threatening the people of dire consequences if they voted for the Muttahida.
Nasreen Jaleel, deputy convener of the MQM coordination committee, while addressing a news conference at the Karachi Press Club, said that so far her party had not been allowed to open any election office or put up banners or flags in the so-called no-go areas and the administration had not yet given permission to hold public meetings in any of those areas.
She said that the rival”Haqiqis”, now known as the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, were brought into Karachi during the military operation of June 1992 and were allowed to occupy areas in Landhi, Korangi, Malir, Shah Faisal Colony, Lines Area and Liaquatabad by force.
Accusing the Haqiqis of evicting hundreds of families from their homes at gun point, she said the authorities had done very little to alleviate the sufferings of those inhabitants.
She said that during the past ten years Muttahida workers and even elected representatives were forcefully stopped from entering their areas.
She said the government was bent upon giving away a number of specific seats to the Haqiqis.
She sought to draw the attention of the Election Commission, the international monitoring teams and human rights organisations to the prevailing situation .
She alleged that the Election Commission had taken no notice of the fact that the activists of the rival group had taken away identity cards of women voters in order to cast votes for their own candidates.
She alleged that the present government was not prepared to allow the Muttahida to conduct its election campaign freely and the party was being asked to campaign in specific areas.
“We protest against this injustice and blatant vandalism, and appeal to General Pervez Musharraf to immediately intervene, clean-up the “no-go” areas, bring the displaced families back to their homes and allow the MQM to campaign freely in all the localities,” she said.
