KARACHI, Sept 15: North Nazimabad police have registered an FIR on the complaint of a Muttahida Quami Movement MPA against senior leaders of the Jamaat-i-Islami for their alleged role in attacking an MQM unit office before setting it on fire, igniting a political row in the backdrop of the recent killings of Islami Jamiat Talaba workers.

An area police official said a few miscreants attacked the MQM unit-177 in block E of the North Nazimabad sector and put it on fire after damaging its furniture and office records.

“We lodged an FIR on the complaint of MQM MPA Idrees Ahmed Siddiqi on late Friday night, who nominated Nasrullah Shaji (JI MPA) and Dr Mairajul Huda Siddiqi (JI Karachi chief) among others for their alleged involvement in the attack,” said Salman Waheed, SHO of North Nazimabad.

He said the other accused included area workers of the JI but no arrest had been made yet. The SHO said the police were in the process of initial investigations.

The fresh allegations against the JI by the MQM came a couple of days after the opposition party levelled serious charges against the ruling coalition partner for its alleged involvement in Thursday’s attack on a minibus on University Road, which left seven people, including three IJT activists, dead.

The MQM leadership, which has already denied JI allegations, says the FIR against its opponents was not a part of the blame game, as their party workers have been under threat in North Nazimabad.

“We believe in coexistence and have no agenda of political victimisation of the opposition parties,” said Faisal Sabzwari, an MQM member of the Sindh Assembly. “The MQM workers in North Nazimabad have been observing this trend for long, which resulted in yesterday’s incident and caused serious damage to our unit office.”

However, the Jamaat-i-Isalami appears firm in blaming the MQM for planning and executing Thursday’s terrorism while it sees the case against its leadership as part of a design to target opposition parties in Karachi.

“Some of our workers nominated in the FIR by the MQM are aged between 65 and 70 years,” said Nasrullah Shaji, a JI MPA.

“It’s a history of the MQM that whenever it launches a ‘big operation’ against its opponents, it also causes minor damage to its own party for counter allegations.”

He said the JI and IJT leadership had made every effort to lodge an FIR against activists of the All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organisation, who were identified by the injured.

“We met the DIG, the CCPO and almost every high official in the police but not a single officer is ready to pay heed to our request. Here in Karachi, might is right,” added Mr Shaji.