KARACHI, Sept 12: The chief of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Altaf Hussain, on Monday condemned the killing of a Ranger by terrorists after an attempt on the life of a pesh imam in Sohrab Goth area Sunday night.

He said that the manner in which the authorities negotiated with the terrorists proved that 30 per cent of the police and civil administration of the city had links with Al Qaeda, Jamat-i-Islami or other jihadi outfits.

Mr Hussain regretted that while armed terrorists were roaming at will, after attacking and setting on fire police posts in the area, the police and civil administration, instead of arresting them, was negotiating with them.

He said that if any personnel of the Rangers would have been killed or injured in any locality of Urdu-speaking people, the security agencies would have played havoc and would have conducted raids in those areas and the members of Urdu-speaking community, including men, women and the youth would not have been spared.

Mr Hussain felt that even the MQM headquarters- Nine Zero- would have been attacked and oil tanks would have been jettisoned from the aircraft as was done in the past in Gharibabad.

The MQM leader said it was regrettable that instead of arresting the culprits, the authorities were negotiating with them.

He asked the authorities that when operation was launched against jihadi outfits in South Waziristan and they were being arrested along with weapons why effort was not being made to round up those associated with Al Qaeda and jihadi outfits in Karachi along with their weapons.

Mr Hussain demanded that Al Qaeda remnants and such jihadi outfits who were involved in terrorist activities should be arrested immediately and action should be taken against those who were providing them protection.