KARACHI, Nov 9: The minister for interior, Moinuddin Haider, said on Saturday that there were no “no-go areas” in Karachi.

He was talking to newsmen at the inauguration of a blood processing laboratory at the Fatmid Foundation.

When his attention was drawn to the strong line Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Husain had taken vis-a-vis the so-called “no-go areas”, Mr Haider said there were no “no-go areas” in Karachi.

“No leader would like bloodshed. Mr Hussain is a responsible person, and I don’t think that he will create such a situation because he is actively involved in the formation of government,” the minister said.

He said the “no-go areas” issue was a dispute between some groups of a political party, as ordinary people were free to move in all parts of Karachi.

Mr Haider said he would be holding a meeting on law and order and the “no-go areas” issue with the Sindh government on Sunday.

AIMAL KASI: The minister ruled out any backlash in Pakistan over the imminent execution of Aimal Kasi in the United States, and said that all the law-enforcement agencies were alert to meet any challenge.

He said that a few weeks earlier he had forwarded a mercy petition, filed by Kasi’s wife, to the US authorities. “But it appears that the appeal has not been accepted,” he said.