KARACHI, Aug 15: Deputy Convenor of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Dr Farooq Sattar on Monday reiterated his party’s demand for a ban on political activities of the Jamaat-i-Islami for its alleged complicity in a terrorist conspiracy and at the same time has asked party workers to remain peaceful and exercise restraint despite provocations.

Speaking at a news conference at Nine-Zero, with other members of the MQM coordination committee, Dr Farooq Sattar said as the local body elections were just three days away, like other provincial governments, the Sindh government had also taken appropriate measures to ensure peaceful and orderly elections.

On the contrary, he said that the leaders of Jamaat-i-Islami had been emphasizing that there would be bloodshed in Karachi if the elections were not held under military supervision.

Dr Sattar questioned the JI motive and cited statements by former Nazim of Karachi who expressed these apprehensions. He alleged that the JI had hatched a conspiracy of bloodletting in Karachi.

He referred to the recent arrest of a person involved in the conspiracy. The arrested person, he claimed, had disclosed that the JI trained “terrorists” had formed a group to destroy Karachi’s peace.

While some members of the “terrorist group” formed to implement the alleged plan had been arrested, he demanded that the rest should also be apprehended.

Dr Farooq Sattar and other members of the Rabita Committee, including Anwar Alam and Waseem Aftab, paid tributes to all those police and administration officials who, they said, saved the city from a possible bloodshed.

He said that recovery of explosives and modern weapons from these terrorists had exposed the diabolical conspiracy against Karachi and its residents.

He was of the view that the JI’s alleged conspiracy was to pit the common man against military.

The MQM leader urged the president, the prime minister and the federal and provincial ministers to take notice of the JI “conspiracy” to destroy peace of Karachi, which is the hub of industrial activity.