KARACHI, May 10: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Thursday announced the timings and venue of its rally in Karachi on Saturday. However, the party dispelled an impression that its rally was against the event that Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry will attend on the day or against the judiciary, saying the MQM gathering was being organised to denounce religious and political parties which wanted to destabilise the government in the name of protecting independence of the judiciary. MQM chief Altaf Hussain will address the rally.

Speaking at a press conference at the press club here on Thursday, MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar said the procession would start on Saturday noon from the mausoleum of the Quaid-i-Azam and terminate at the Tibet Centre. Rallies of people from other areas of Sindh would join the main rally in the city, he said.

“We cannot ask people coming from Badin, Thatta or other areas to take routes other than the National Highway to enter the city. It is the only route for them and they will reach the venue via the National Highway and Sharea Faisal to join the main rally,” he said when asked whether the MQM wanted to block the route of the rallies which would welcome the Chief Justice.

Dr Sattar said opposition parties had been claiming that the people of Karachi and Sindh were not with the MQM and that their participation in the rally to welcome the CJP would prove it. “This clearly shows that the opposition parties have called the rally not to welcome the CJP, but for their ulterior political motives under the cover of the CJP’s welcome. This is a challenge for us and we take it,” he said.

He said the opposition’s struggle was not for independence of the judiciary, but a conspiracy to remove the government and against the democratic system. He said supporters of the MQM would not allow the conspiracy to succeed.

“We have no objection to the CJP’s visit and his address at the bar. We respect the office of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, but we are against the political jugglery in the name of independence of judiciary.”

Answering a question, he said everyone, including the Chief Justice, should take notice of the warning issued by the Sindh home department about a possible terrorist attack. All of them, he added, would be responsible for any incident on Saturday.