Tit for tat: PTI demands FIR against Altaf, MQM returns the favour

Both parties submit resolutions against each other

KARACHI:

The archrivals, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have taken it upon themselves to outwit each other by knocking the doors of every available forum and challenging each other's credentials.

After an onslaught of cases against MQM chief Altaf Hussain since Monday night, the MQM has also started submitting FIR applications against PTI chief Imran Khan.



These applications have been submitted at various police stations across Karachi, said MQM spokesperson Wasay Jalil. The party will lodge cases against Khan for his disrespectful and critical remarks against the armed forces, he told The Express Tribune. He was referring to some statement about 'generals' that Khan made inside a container during the sit-in in Islamabad.

"Why is it that when others give statements, it's fine with everyone but when Altaf Hussain says something, cases are registered against him," said Jalil. "The law should be equal for everyone."

The party also plans to lodge cases against federal defence minister Khawaja Asif for his anti-state speeches.



Karachi case

While both MQM and PTI leaders have submitted applications at Darakhshan Police station for the registration of FIRs against one another, the police have yet to convert them into FIRs. A duty officer at the station told The Express Tribune that the applications of both the parties were being investigated and cases will only be registered if the applications are found worthy. PTI's Faisal Vawda said if the FIR is not registered, then they will go to court.

Meanwhile the MQM submitted an application to register a case against Khan's remarks against the armed forces. MNA Ali Raza Abidi, who submitted the application on MQM's behalf, said that several leaders have spoken against the armed forces and actions should be taken against all of them.

Sindh Assembly resolution

Lawmakers of both the parties also went to the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday to submit resolutions against each other. Speaking to the media outside the assembly, PTI MNA Dr Arif Alvi said that the provincial and federal governments are deliberately ignoring Hussain's hate speeches against national institutions.

Mocking the relationship between the MQM and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Alvi told the media not to "fall for their act" and that the "MQM and PPP fight during the day and are best friends by nightfall."

PTI's parliamentary leader in Sindh Assembly Samar Ali Khan said they have appealed to the speaker to convene a session immediately.

Meanwhile, MQM lawmakers also submitted a resolution in the assembly against the PTI chief for his words against the national institutions. They demanded the federal government immediately lodge a case against Khan, under Article 6, and cancel his membership to the National Assembly.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2015.