KARACHI, June 18: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief, Altaf Hussain, on Friday lashed out at PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed accusing them of making false accusations.

The MQM chief declared that Qazi Hussain Ahmed stands "excommunicated" from Islam as according to him he had been telling lies and making false allegations.

Altaf Hussain expressed these views while addressing an emergency general workers meeting which was summoned especially to review the "anti-MQM " attitude of a London-based private television channel for its alleged slant against the party, especially in its news and current affairs programme.

Mr Hussain who had been criticizing religious parties, especially the Jamaat-i-Islami, for their alleged anti-people role, said that Qazi Hussain Ahmed had wrongly accused Khalid Mahmood, MQM's former unit incharge of Federal B Area, in the assassination of Mufti Shamzai by claiming that Khalid was killed by the retaliatory firing of Shamzai's guard.

He said it was well-established fact that Khalid Mahmood and his brother had great respect for Mufti Shamzai. They had participated in Mufti Shamzai's funeral prayers during which Khalid Mahmood died of heart attack, he added.

Criticizing Benazir Bhutto for implicating the MQM in Munawwar Suhrawardi's murder, Altaf Hussain said that despite being foreign educated she had the feudal mentality. She had not learnt the lesson despite being out of power and the country.

Mr Hussain claimed that as the MQM message was attracting more and more people in the rural areas of Sindh, Ms Bhutto was levelling allegations because she was afraid of loosing the Sindh card.

He said that Ms Bhutto was accusing the MQM though during her tenure many MQM activists and supporters died in extra-judicial killings and hatching a conspiracy of Jinnahpur against the party. He accused the Bhutto government of promoting those SHOs, who were willing collaborators in the extra-judicial killings.

He was of the view that Ms Bhutto was a fugitive who was afraid of facing cases against her in the court of law. Deploring the killing of Munawwar Suhrawardi, Altaf Hussain said that Mr Suhrawardi had never criticized the MQM, but, MMA and PPP leaders were making wild allegations against the MQM.

Mr Hussain regretted that electronic media and some leading newspapers were giving them undue coverage. He was especially critical of ARY and Geo channels and said that besides PPP and the Muslim League, the MQM was the third largest party of the country but it was not getting due coverage.

Mr Hussain accused the electronic media of giving air time to insignificant people who did not have comprehension of issues, but they were freely levelling allegations against the MQM. The MQM chief termed the attitude of leading newspapers and electronic media as "painful" and alleged that they were not giving the MQM its due share in coverage though it had 42 MPAs, 17 MNAs and seven senators.