KARACHI, May 19: Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan has described the May 12 killings in Karachi as state terrorism and held the Sindh Government responsible for it.

Talking to newsmen at the residence of provincial party chief Syed Shahi on Saturday, the ANP leader said that innocent people were killed under the supervision of the Rangers and police.

He said the Muttahida Qaumi Movement wanted to give the impression that Karachi belonged to it only.

“We are not ready to accept the will of General Musharraf. How we can accept the will of the MQM?”

The ANP leader told newsmen that the Sindh governor had contacted him after the May 12 violence. “I refused to talk to the governor and told him that he was the governor of the MQM and not of the province.”

He demanded that the Sindh government be removed.

“It was basically a political issue,” he said, adding that it was regrettable that attempts were being made to give it a linguistic touch.

He condemned such attempts and said they were detrimental to the solidarity of the country.

“We are political beings and we believe in a political struggle,” the ANP leader said. He promised that a three-day strike being observed against “state terrorism” would be peaceful.

Mr Khan made it clear that he was not visiting Karachi on an official invitation. He said he wanted to visit those families who had been affected by the May 12 mayhem and to acquaint himself with the ground realities.