KARACHI, Sept 29: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement has demanded immediate arrest of lawyers involved in the attack on Dr Farooq Sattar, the party’s parliamentary leader in the National Assembly, in Islamabad.

Speaking at a press conference here on Saturday, MQM coordination committee in-charge Anwar Alam strongly condemned the incident which took place near Polyclinic Islamabad. “Unknown terrorists wearing black coats tried to kill Dr Farooq when he visited the hospital to sympathise with injured journalists,” he said.

Dr Sattar was severely beaten by a group of lawyers at the hospital. He was seriously injured and is presently under treatment.

He warned the lawyers involved in the attack and said that hundreds of thousands of voters had the right to hold them accountable through a constitutional and democratic procedure.

He urged President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to take notice of the attack and order immediate arrest of the culprits.

He appealed to party workers and supporters to remain peaceful and not to get provoked by such illegal and inhumane acts of some lawyers.

Mr Alam said the MQM had all rights to hold peaceful demonstrations against such acts and urged the peaceful lawyers to condemn the attack on Dr Sattar.