KARACHI: A day after he had asked the rulers and the establishment to separate Karachi from Pakistan if they did not like the mandate of the city, Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain clarified on Monday that he did not make any such demand.

According to an MQM press release, Mr Hussain denied in unequivocal terms what he called baseless allegations and said: “I request all those who are accusing me to obtain the CD of my address from Nine Zero and see my points in the light of the context in which I was speaking and then give their comments.”

He said those whose forefathers had sacrificed over two million lives for the creation of Pakistan could not even imagine going against the country.

He congratulated the nation on the holding of general elections and the continuation of the democratic process and expressed the hope that it would continue. He said the nation deserved praise for defying terrorism and coming out of homes on May 11.

Mr Hussain said people had reached polling stations on time, but had to wait for long in queues because of “mismanagement” of the Election Commission (ECP).

They waited patiently but did not get disappointed, he said, adding that the massive turnout indicated that there was an awakening among the people.

The Muttahida chief praised the army, Rangers, Frontier Constabulary and police for working tirelessly. He said the ECP and Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim had played an important role and worked day and night to ensure timely elections.

The MQM chief said the process of elections had ended and those who had any grievance should seek legal remedy instead of coming out on streets and creating difficulties for the country.

He urged all political and religious parties to accept each other’s mandate with open heart and suggested that power should be transferred to the majority party.