KARACHI: The federal and provincial authorities were found in agreement on Wednesday that Altaf Hussain’s speech that carried anti-Pakistan remarks and slogans was part of a “preplanned, organised move” to cause unrest, which was foiled due to the timely action by the provincial administration.

Both the Sindh and federal governments during a meeting at CM House reiterated their resolve that nobody at any cost would be allowed to spread hatred or terror in any form in the city.

The meeting, which was chaired by interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and attended by Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ibad and CM Shah, also decided that any activity that posed threat to life, liberty, public and private property, business activities and day-to-day life would be dealt with an iron hand.

It was observed that “under a preplanned and organised move”, an attempt was made to hijack city’s peace but accurate and timely move by what they termed young and energetic chief minister thwarted the nefarious designs of the enemies of Pakistan, according to a statement issued by CM House following the meeting.

The interior minister said the new CM had taken a very good start as far as governance was concerned and he was quite sure that not only law and order would improve but also business activities would flourish under his leadership.

The chief minister told the meeting that his government gave top priority to law and order for which he was holding review meetings day in and day out. “Peace in Karachi has been restored after a lot of sacrifices and we are committed to make it sustainable,” he said.

The meeting was informed that FIRs of the violence had been registered and each and every suspect had been identified or in the process of investigation. “I would not allow any kind of terrorism whether it may be through hate speech, instigation or direct or indirect threats,” the statement quoted the chief minister as saying.

The Sindh governor said there should be a coordinated effort between the federal and provincial government for sustainable peace.

The interior minister said a one-day strike in Karachi caused Rs5 billion loss to the national exchequer apart from causing anguish and trauma among the people. He assured his full support to the provincial government for its effort to establish peace in the city.

“The meeting also decided to work out a detailed plan to provide security to media houses,” added the statement.

Earlier, DG Rangers Maj Gen Bilal Akbar and Sindh IGP A.D. Khowaja briefed the meeting about the overall situation in Karachi and other parts of Sindh while sharing details of progress of investigations into the Aug 22 violence.

The officials informed the meeting that the case was being investigated from different angles and its report would be shared with the federal government.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2016