LAHORE, May 4: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has decided to contest the next general election from all over the country. This was stated by MQM leader Dr Ali Hasan at a press conference held at the Lahore Press Club here on Thursday.

He said the people of the Punjab, the NWFP and Balochistan had given the MQM a very good response and a majority of them were prepared to lend full support to the party in the election.

He said the MQM had started organising itself in the three provinces by setting up its offices. It had already set up offices in 26 districts of the Punjab, while offices would be opened in the remaining districts soon.

Dr Hasan said membership campaign would start soon in the Punjab. The MQM would hold a public meeting on August 14 at Minar-i-Pakistan which would be addressed by the central and provincial leaders of the party. “We shall make the jagirdars, capitalists and corrupt civil and military bureaucrats restless by carrying the message of our leader Altaf Husain to the people,” he declared.

Asked if the MQM would join any political alliance to contest the election, he said no decision had so far been taken. However, the central leaders would soon start mass contact drive.

He said the MQM was serving the people of Karachi by launching ambitious plans to provide them civic amenities under the leadership of its nazim Mustafa Kamal. It was not a terrorist organisation. It had never indulged in terrorism nor would it carry out terrorism anywhere in the country in future, he added.

He rejected the statements of some political leaders that the MQM was responsible for the Nishtar Park blast and said it had already vehemently condemned it.

It appeared to be a suicide attack, he maintained.