KARACHI, May 10: Convenor of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s coordination committee Dr Imran Farooq on Wednesday accused activists of Jamaat-i-Islami and its student wing, Islami Jamiat Talaba, of kidnapping and torturing workers of the All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organization (APMSO), termed it ‘an act of terrorism’.

In a statement issued from London, Dr Imran Farooq urged the president and prime minister, as well as Sindh governor and chief minister, to take serious notice of terrorist acts that had spread from educational institutions to certain localities.

Dr Farooq alleged that the JI and IJT had targeted educational institutions and APMSO supporters with a definite plan. In this context, he recalled that four days back, an attempt was made to kidnap APMSO activist Zubair Azmi in Karachi University after subjecting him to torture.

On Tuesday also, he said, IJT activists kidnapped the APMSO Jinnah College unit member, Faraz, and the Jinnah Homeopathic College unit member, Shehzad Imran, at gunpoint. They had been blind-folded, taken to a torture cell and subjected to torture, he claimed.

Similarly, the Jinnah Polytechnic College unit members, Nadir, Hasnain and Rashid Mohammad, had been kidnapped at gunpoint from the SSC Board office and taken to a torture cell set up in the GCT College.

Dr Imran alleged that all such activities were part of the conspiracy the JI leadership had hatched to destroy peace in the city. He also accused the JI Secretary-General, Syed Munawwar Hassan, of issuing directives in this regard.

IJT’S VERSION: The Islami Jamiat Talaba rejected claims of abducting and torturing activists of the All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organisation, saying all those shown on private TV channels were nominated terrorists in IJT worker Farhan Asif's murder and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement government had staged the drama to protect them from the law.