KARACHI, Dec 9: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement has demanded that a high-level judicial commission be set up to investigate extra-judicial killings of MQM activists over the years.

Muttahida chief Altaf Hussain, in his telephonic speech from London at a meeting organized at the Khurshid Memorial Hall here and similar gatherings in other cities in connection with the “Yaum-i-Shuhada”, said instead of taking punitive action against the people who had killed thousands of MQM activists, the culprits had been rewarded.

He also criticized religious and political parties which had always raised their voice against the killings of the people but had never condemned the murders of Muttahida activists.

Mr Hussain said Pakistan People’s Party chairperson Benazir Bhutto and Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Nawaz Sharif during their tenures as prime ministers had time and again issued statements, asking him to return to the country and face cases at courts but they themselves were now avoiding to face the courts.

He demanded that the government should award punishments to the people responsible for the killings of MQM members.