Karachi situation: Altaf urges supporters to petition UN, Nato for troops

Says India would have intervened on Mohajirs’ behalf if it had a ‘little sense of honour’


Our Correspondent August 02, 2015
Altaf Hussain. PHOTO MQM

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has called on workers of his party to petition the United Nations and Nato to send forces to Karachi to ascertain the ‘real facts’ about the killing of ‘Mohajirs’ in the metropolitan city.

In a telephone address to the annual MQM convention in Dallas, US late Saturday, Altaf alleged that ‘biased elements’ in Pakistan’s establishment have decided to “eliminate Mohajir youths who are demanding their due rights”.

“These biased people have also decided to force the Mohajirs into slavery,” he said in his speech, broadcast in Pakistan, the UK and other countries via MQM Web TV.

The MQM chief directed his supporters to reach out to the UN and Nato, and direct their attention towards “the atrocities being committed on the Mohajir community”. He called upon them to write letters to Western news publications to make them aware “of the actual situation in Pakistan”.

Altaf claimed thousands of innocent MQM workers and supporters had been arrested by law enforcement and security agencies over the last two years as part of the Karachi operation. Hundreds of them, he alleged, were tortured and crippled. The whereabouts of dozens more are still unknown, he added. The MQM chief also claimed that many of his party workers were “killed in front of their families”.

Referring to the raid on MQM’s headquarters Nine Zero, Altaf lashed out at the Rangers for “parading innocent people like prisoners of war before courts”. He accused the paramilitary force of taking more than Rs1 billion in bribes to release MQM workers from custody. “Even the Indian army did not mete out such an insulting treatment to the 93,000 Pakistani soldiers it made prisoners of war in 1971,” he said.

Hitting out at Pakistan’s military, Altaf said he “made the mistake of saluting the armed forces in the past” and that he would “pray to Almighty Allah for forgiveness” for doing so.

The MQM chief also called India a cowardly nation for “allowing the bloodshed of the Mohajirs” in Pakistan. He said India would have intervened on the community’s behalf if it had “a little sense of honour”.

Altaf said ‘biased people’ were propagating the myth that law and order in Karachi had worsened since MQM’s inception. He said the same people never discuss how the Mohajir areas were raided in 1965, how Mohajir bureaucrats were sacked under the reign of General Ayub Khan and General Yahya Khan, and how the community’s businesses were taken over in the name of nationalisation and later sold off to ‘dear ones’ rather than being returned to original owners.

The MQM chief claimed that 150 fake cases had been lodged against him on the wishes of the establishment, but said this would not deter him from his 37-year-old “struggle for the rights of the poor and the oppressed”.

He told his supporters that the UK government’s decision to freeze MQM assets had put the party in a dire situation. He called on party workers and supporters to donate what they can so that the MQM could continue to function.

Altaf also said he would officially demand a separate Mohajir province as soon as he received the green-signal from MQM workers in Pakistan and across the world.

MQM denies Altaf called for foreign intervention

MQM MNA Farooq Sattar on Sunday said party chief Altaf Hussain never asked for help from India, Nato or the UN in his address to the annual party convention in Dallas.

Addressing a news conference alongside members of the party’s Coordination Committee, he said Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and other political leaders were speaking loudly against the MQM but no one was raising their voice against the atrocities being committed on MQM workers.

He said the MQM was being pushed against the wall through measures like suppressing its welfare activities. He called on the government to set up an impartial committee to stop brutalities against MQM workers and compensate them.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 3rd, 2015. 

COMMENTS (3)

Sri Varahadev | 8 years ago | Reply Re: The MQM chief also called India a cowardly nation for “allowing the bloodshed of the Mohajirs” in Pakistan. He said India would have intervened on the community’s behalf if it had “a little sense of honour”. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Mr. Altaf Hussain in particular and Urdu people in general should know that they forfeited India’s protection when they opted to migrate from India to Pakistan. In addition Mr. Hussain and Mohajirs should know that belligerent requests by those begging for protection they have forfeited gets one nowhere. Nonetheless on humanitarian grounds I support Urdu people being given Indian protection just as Bengalis of erstwhile East Pakistan and present day Bangladesh, provided such protection was humbly requested for.
Karachiite | 8 years ago | Reply This guy is a mafia don! Karachi has turned very peaceful ever since the operations started against his hoodlums.
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