Altaf’s speech proclamation of war: Nisar

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Sunday that the recent speech of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain was a proclamation of war against the country and the government would file a formal ‘legal reference’ against him within a few days with the British government.
He said Altaf had delivered a hate speech in Britain, humiliating the state institutions of Pakistan and using abusive language against the heads of different state organs.
“How can a Pakistani invite an enemy country and Nato to interfere in his country? But Altaf Hussain did it,” Nisar said.
Addressing a press conference here at the Punjab House, the minister pointed out Altaf Hussain’s hate speech and said whatever Altaf would do, Pakistan would continue to cooperate with the British authorities on two high profile cases i.e. the Imran Farooq murder case and money laundering case.
“There is a limit to political jugglery but Altaf in his speech has crossed all limits of morality and civility and hurled baseless allegations and used unethical and immoral language against the state institutions and heads of these institutions and read out satirical poems by recalling names of different state heads,” said Nisar.
The minister also vowed that the Karachi operation will continue as per the mandate given to the Rangers as this operation was launched with the sole objective of restoring peace in Karachi and purging Karachi of criminal elements.
Commenting on the hate speech made by the MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain, the minister said that the way Altaf used abusive language about the state institutions of the country was not mentionable in the media and the way Altaf invited India and Nato forces to take control of Pakistan was unthinkable by any patriotic Pakistani.
Altaf in his speech invited India and the Nato forces to seize and take control of Pakistan and instigated the Urdu speaking populace of Karachi and Hyderabad to stage protests in front of the United Nations offices against the Pakistani institutions.
The minister said that Altaf was scared of money laundering and Imran Farooq’s murder cases and the reality was that these cases were not being filed by Pakistan but by the British authorities to whom Altaf had taken oath of loyalty. “Investigative skills of British authorities are notable and Altaf is diverting his frustration towards Pakistan. Altaf is trying to exploit the sentiments of the Urdu speaking population of Pakistan but any patriotic Pakistani can’t imagine anti-state rhetoric which the MQM chief has expressed in his speech. Altaf wants the Indian and Nato interference in Pakistan,” said the interior minister.
The Sindh Rangers are carrying out an across-the-board operation against criminals in Karachi and the political parties in Karachi including PPP, ANP, Jamaat-e-Islami, Shabab-e-Milli, Sunni Tehreek and others did not raise any objection to the Rangers’ operation except the MQM, said the minister.
He also pointed out that it was the MQM that had first demanded military intervention to address the issues of Karachi’s law and order but when criminal elements supported by the MQM were unearthed, the MQM got furious and started campaigning against the Rangers and tried to politicise the Karachi operation on different excuses.
During the last one-and-a-half years, Karachi’s situation had improved to a large extent. Incidents of target killings, kidnapping for ransom and extortion had almost come to an end during July 2015 and as per statistical reports of the police, the Rangers from September 2013 to-date had arrested 826 terrorists, handed over 4,950 suspected criminals to the police for investigation, arrested 334 target killers and also arrested 296 extortionists, while 10,353 raids were carried out by the Rangers, said the minister.
The minister said that the Rangers had no personal grudge with the MQM or any other political party. “We have respect for the MQM’s mandate but action is being carried out against the criminal elements of MQM,” the minister said and added that a few days back, he had held a meeting with a visiting delegation of the MQM leadership and reservations and apprehensions raised by the MQM leadership were promised to be addressed. But the tirade of Altaf Hussain against the state institutions could not be comprehended, said the minister.
Appreciating the role of the Rangers in restoring peace in Karachi, the minister said that services of intelligence agencies were much laudable as on the reports of secret agencies, actions were being taken against target killers and extortionists. The minister also eulogised the services of Sindh Police and appreciated the role of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah who supported the Karachi operation whenever the federal government sought assistance. All the political parties also supported the Karachi operation and never protested against the activities of law enforcement agencies to purge the city of criminal elements.
The minister said the federal government never bothered to take credit for improving the law and order situation in Karachi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and in Fata. He declared the government was willing to improve the law and order situation across the country.
Responding to a query, the minister said that he had personally talked with PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi over the PTI’s proposed protests against the MQM and Qureshi endorsed his stance to refrain from staging protests in London as such practices raised questions about the image of Pakistan in foreign countries.
Replying to another query, the minister said that he had provided relief to the MQM in various situations and whenever he observed that the Karachi operation was getting de-tracked, he held meetings with Rangers’ officials and instructed them in this regard without making it public, said the minister.
The minister said that money laundering was a serious crime and Imran Farooq was a Pakistani who was brutally murdered in Britain.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave directions that evidence about the Dr Imran Farooq case should be shared with Britain, he added.
The minister said the Pakistan Army and Rangers had no differences with the MQM which represented the Urdu-speaking people.