MULTAN, Sept 16: The entire country, not only Karachi, is in the grip of bloodshed, Federal Minister for Communications Shamim Siddiqui said on Sunday.

Talking to journalists at a ceremony where over two dozens people joined the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Siddiqui said the incident of firing at a university bus in Karachi in which seven students were killed was being investigated, adding that those involved in the incident would be punished. He said MQM was not involved in the killings.

Siddiqui, who is a senior MQM leader, said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s entry to Karachi had been banned “in line with Supreme Court directions” relating to smooth flow of traffic in the city. He said Khan had announced that he would hold a rally on Shahra-e-Faisal, which was one of the busy roads of the city.

The MQM leader said Karachi’s Northern Bypass Bridge, which collapsed about three weeks ago, would be reconstructed by Dec. He said his party had yet to decide on re-election of President Pervez Musharraf in uniform. He said MQM would back the demand for a Seraiki province.

MQM Punjab Chief Organiser Ammanullah Khan said his party represented the poor.