ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has come up with another round of severe criticism of Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain and asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to use government resources for filing cases against him in London.

Addressing the PTI leadership gathered at a hotel here on Tuesday to welcome former governor of Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar into the party, he accused Mr Hussain of running a network of target killers.

The PTI chief said the time had come to stand up against the MQM leader because he had held the people of Karachi hostage to his “reign of terror”.

He also accused Mr Hussain of killing workers of his own party.

Mr Khan referred to the JIT report submitted by the Rangers in the Sindh High Court about the burning alive of over 250 workers in the Baldia factory fire and said the MQM leader should be declared a ‘murderer’.

He once again advised the MQM leaders and workers to abandon Altaf Hussain who, he said, had ‘lost his senses’ and was ruining their political career by involving them in crimes.

The PTI chairman reiterated that his party would not join any forum attended by the MQM if Altaf Hussain continued to lead it.

He criticised the government for not responding to what he claimed MQM chief’s proven track record of killing people with impunity.

Meanwhile, PTI Information Secretary Dr Shireen Mazari wrote an open letter to British High Commissioner in Islamabad Philip Barton against Altaf Hussain.

She wrote: “I wish to bring to your notice the incitement to violence, use of abuse and antics spreading hate, of Altaf Hussain, leader of the MQM. He is not only a British citizen but is using British territory to incite people to violence in Pakistan. His party is known to have an armed mafia wing which indulges in extortion, blackmail and murder.”

She mentioned the murders of PTI’s woman leader Zahra Shahid in Karachi in 2013 and journalist Wali Khan Babar and accused the MQM of being behind them.

“A JIT found MQM to be involved in a factory fire in Karachi that led to over 258 deaths including of women and children – which was set off because the owners did not pay the extortion money to MQM’s mafia wing.”

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2015

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