Siege at Mehran: Nation believes armed forces lost, says Altaf

Says defence institutions must review their policies on terror.

LONDON:

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has condemned the terrorist attack at the PNS Mehran Base in Karachi and also expressed profound sorrow and grief over the loss of lives of brave officers and soldiers of the navy and rangers.

“The penetration of a few terrorists into such an important and sensitive defence installation is not only a matter of grave concern for the entire nation but is also [a] strange [occurrence],” Hussain said, in a statement issued on Tuesday.

He said that the entire nation believed that the attack was an embarrassing defeat of Pakistan’s armed forces. “Fighting continued for 16 hours and terrorists destroyed important aircraft. Commandos of navy and the paramilitary rangers were killed but the militants did not suffer a single casualty and instead blew themselves up,” he said.

Hussain said that it is now imperative and a need of the hour that defence institutions review their policies and deal with terrorists and their abettors, whether civilian or military, with an iron fist.

Praying for the souls of those who died in the line of duty, he appealed to the nation to stand united and said that there is no option left for the nation but to offer prayers of forgiveness before Allah for Pakistan’s safety and security.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2011.