KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement has criticised a statement issued by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan accusing MQM chief Altaf Hussain of passing provocative remarks against security forces.

“Altaf Hussain, the MQM and 50 million Muhajirs cannot be separated,” the party leader Dr Farooq Sattar said at a press conference on Monday. “Chaudhry Nisar is suffering from Altaf-phobia and he tried to separate Muhajirs and Altaf Hussain.”

He said that the MQM had no option but to lodge a peaceful protest against Chaudhry Nisar’s statement.

There was an unannounced ban on live telecast of Mr Hussain’s speeches by TV channels and now efforts were being made to ban his telephonic address to his followers, Dr Sattar said.

About the speech of the MQM chief on Sunday, Dr Sattar said that Mr Hussain was anguished because of injustices against the Muhajirs.

“The Supreme Court has observed that all parties in Karachi have militant wings but only the MQM is being targeted,” he protested.

Dr Sattar said that Federal Minister for Water and Power Khwaja Asif had done nothing to end frequent power breakdowns in Karachi.

Referring to the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in the Russian town of Ufa, he said that Mr Sharif did not raise the issue of alleged involvement of the Indian intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing, in Pakistan’s affairs.

Cases against Altaf

Meanwhile, four FIRs were registered against Altaf Hussain in three cities of Sindh on Monday for allegedly speaking against security forces. Two FIRs were registered at Jacobabad’s Saddar and Airport police stations and one each in Larkana and Khairpur.

The FIRs were registered under Section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups, etc) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

According to TV channels, certain sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 had also been invoked in the FIRs.

According to the FIRs, Mr Hussain had on July 12 made a speech in which he allegedly spoke against the country’s solidarity and security forces.

It was alleged in the FIRs that Mr Hussain’s speech was aimed at creating unrest in Karachi and other parts of Sindh.

Published in Dawn ,July 14th, 2015

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