KARACHI, March 30: Greater provincial autonomy is necessary for the country’s integrity and the rulers must accept this demand without further delay, says leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Altaf Hussain.

According to a press release issued here on Thursday, Mr Hussain was addressing a meeting of party leaders and workers in London.

The meeting, held at the party’s international secretariat, was attended by, among others, Mr Hussain’s elder brother Iqbal Hussain, Rabita Committee convener Dr Imran Farooq, senior deputy convener Tariq Javed, Rabita Committee’s in-charge for Pakistan Anwar Alam, and joint in-charge Abdul Haseeb.

Mr Hussain reiterated that at the criticial phase, Pakistan’s security and integrity might suffer if immediate steps were not taken to rebuild national unity.

He urged the people in authority to accept the demand for full provincial autonomy without any delay to save the country from plunging into a crisis.

The MQM chief urged President General Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and members of the federal cabinet to solve problems in Wana in North Waziristan and Balochistan through dialogue, rather than by using force, and said that the government should pay compensation to people affected by violence in these areas.

He said that the MQM was the only political party which had consistently been opposing interference of the GHQ and agencies in civilian matters.

He criticized leaders of the PPP and the PML-N, who had dubbed him a traitor, and said they lacked moral courage to admit their past mistakes. He said leaders of both the PPP and the PML-N were openly criticizing the army and accusing it of interfering in politics.

He challenged the sincerity of the PPP and PML-N leaders and said they should admit that they had come to power with the help of generals to prove their credentials, adding that they should also admit that they had been wrong in hurling allegations at him.