KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Friday took out a rally on M A Jinnah Road from Tibet Center in solidarity with victims of Peshawar carnage and Pakistan Army.

Speaking on the occasion, MQM chief Altaf Hussain paid tribute to the victims of the deadly Taliban siege of an army-run school that killed almost 150 people, mostly children.

He said this great national tragedy has united the country against terrorism.

“The lights of knowledge were put off by the terrorists. I salute to Pak Army and other law enforcement agencies for countering terrorism… In order to save the country and its honour, we need to eradicate all terrorists from our country,” said the MQM chief.

Altaf Hussain said no religion teaches violence, adding that whoever does wrong in the name of religion is himself a culprit.

The MQM chief, on the occasion, demanded arrest of Lal Masjid’s chief cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz, who openly justifies acts of Taliban and other militant groups and has refused to condemn the Taliban attack on Peshawar school.

Altaf Hussain also demanded closure of Jamia Hafsa, a radical religious seminary on the premises of Islamabad’s infamous Lal Masjid, the site of an army operation and siege in 2007.