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Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif has taken the Muttahida Qoumi Movement (MQM) chief to task over his ‘derogatory' remarks against the armed forces of the country.
In a statement on Friday, Shahbaz called the MQM chief a traitor for seeking 'RAW’s help’ and said he had hurt the sentiments of millions of Pakistanis.
He went on to ask Altaf to tender unconditional apology over his stance, while asking his party to distance and disassociate themselves form the MQM chief's statements. He reiterated that the armed forces of the country are rendering numerous sacrifices in the war against terror and should be respected.
Read: Irresponsible remarks against Pakistan Army will not be tolerated, says General Bajwa
Under an hour, Information Minister Pervez Rashid also criticised the MQM chief, saying his statement would only strengthen criminals.
He said that the security institutions are trying their utmost to purge the country of terrorists and establish peace.
He applauded the armed forces for their efforts to ‘free Karachi of terrorist elements’, adding the security institutions enjoy complete support of democratic forces and the media.
Read: Baseless: MQM rejects allegations made by SSP Rao Anwar
Altaf, while addressing his supporters via a telephonic address at Nine-Zero on late Thursday, referred to the 1971 surrender of the armed forces, using it to ask why the party was labelled as traitors when some of its members sought refuge in India after fleeing prosecution in the aftermath of the 1992 operation against them.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also expressed his displeasure and urged MQM leadership to abstain from issuing such statements.
He lamented that the tone of Altaf did not represent a Pakistani in him.
“MQM is a political party and its leaders should not speak a language similar to that of our enemies.”
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