KARACHI, May 31: The Muttahida Quami Movement Chief, Altaf Hussain, has deplored the alleged suicide bomb attack on Masjid-i-Madinatul Ilm in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Monday and said that this incident and killing of Jamaat-i-Islami’s leader Aslam Mujahid that sparked off violence in different parts of the city clearly indicated that “secret hands” had once again made the religious extremists and jihadis active under a well thought out conspiracy.

In a statement faxed to Dawn the MQM chief alleged that such incidents were aimed at igniting sectarian violence and to tarnish the image of Pakistan, especially Karachi.

He said that the incident at the shrine of Bari Imam and then in Karachi was part of that conspiracy.

The MQM chief alleged that such incidents were engineered to undermine the democratic process and the planned local government elections.

He demanded that President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz should ensure that elements responsible for these incidents were brought to justice.

Meanwhile the MQM coordination committee condemned allegations levelled against it by the JI leaders in the murder of Aslam Mujahid.