July 07, 2008	Monday	Rajab 3, 1429

KARACHI, July 6: Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain has said that the people of Sindh, particularly those living in Karachi, will never allow Taliban to occupy their province or the city and would rather prefer to sacrifice their lives than accept the gun-toting and baton-wielding Sharia of fanatics.

In a telephonic address from London to a gathering of business community at a local hotel, Mr Hussain said a conspiracy was being hatched to Talibanise Karachi and a number of people from the NWFP and tribal areas were being brought to the mega city in trucks.

“These people are being settled in different localities in order to blockade Karachi at all its entry or exit points,” the MQM chief said.

Mr Hussain said that some rogue elements in the establishment and intelligence agencies were supporting the Taliban and bringing them to Karachi and helping them in land-grabbing.

He said the people of Karachi did not want any confrontation and they were ready to provide shelter to people coming here from tribal areas. However, they would never allow Taliban to take over their city by force and would resist any such move.

He asked businessmen, traders and industrialists to come forward to foil the conspiracy of Talibanisation of the financial capital of the country.

“You will have to arrange your security by adopting a watch and ward system,” he said.

The MQM leader said that the people of Karachi always gave shelter to oppressed people from all over Pakistan but it did not mean that they would accept the enforcement of gun–toting and baton-wielding extremists.

He strongly condemned the suicide bombing in Islamabad and termed it an act of terrorism.

He said in a statement that the bombing was a cowardly, inhuman and barbaric act aimed at spreading terrorism and challenging the writ of the government.

Mr Hussain called upon the president, the prime minister and the interior adviser to take stern action and arrest those responsible for the attack and punish them accordingly.

He expressed his heartfelt condolences for the people who lost their lives and prayed for the early recovery of those injured in the attack.