ISLAMABAD, May 17: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has accused the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) of creating a law and order situation in Karachi in a bid to get the forthcoming local government elections postponed. Speaking at a news conference at the Parliament House cafeteria here on Tuesday, MQM parliamentarians Dr Farooq Sattar and Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi said the JI was sure of its defeat in the forthcoming local government elections and, therefore, wanted to sabotage peace in Karachi.

The MQM leaders said that recently representatives of the Islami Jamiat-i-Tulba (IJT) and the All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organization (APMSO), had signed a code of conduct at a meeting held at the Governor’s House and attended by JI Senator Prof Ghafoor Ahmed. They had agreed to make efforts for maintaining peace in educational institutions. However, the MNAs alleged, the IJT was violating the agreement.

Dr Sattar alleged that armed IJT activists had kidnapped four members of the MQM Labour Division from the Education Office in Baldia Town on Monday and tortured them.

According to eye-witnesses, he claimed, the IJT activists had come there on a bus and took the four MQM activists to the Government College of Technology where the JI had set up its largest torture cell.

The MQM leaders urged President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to take notice of the “terrorist activities” of the JI and the IJT in Karachi. They were of the view that “the JI was busy in terrorists activities under a planned conspiracy” as it knew that it could not win the local bodies polls.

Responding to a question, Dr Sattar said MQM’s decision to boycott the previous local government elections was correct in the circumstances prevailing at that time. He said that this time the MQM would not boycott the polls.

When asked why were they appealing to the president and the prime minister when their party was part of the Sindh government, Mr Sattar said the provinces did not have complete autonomy and therefore, they wanted to bring the facts to the notice of the federal government and wanted it to play its role.