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Arrests expected in London after Mohsin Ali’s statement: Sethi

Aapas ki Baat on Friday

By our correspondents
September 05, 2015
LAHORE: Senior analyst Najam Sethi on Friday said 90 foreign players, including the world best, had expressed their willingness to participate in Pakistan Super League (PSL). He added that 25 players were required for purpose and contracts would be signed soon after their selection.
Expressing his views in Geo News programme ‘Aapas ki Baat’, he also revealed that Wasim Akram and Ramiz Raja had agreed to be the ambassador for the PSL.
Sethi said the government, especially the military, wanted to see the Imran Farooq murder case reaching the conclusion. The accused, Mohsin Ali Syed, would be handed over to the UK only if the British government moved the case forward, he said adding that case could also be registered in Pakistan on the basis of his statement.
Sethi said some people, whose names had been shared by Mohsin, were expected to be arrested in the coming days in London and the matter would lead to Altaf Hussain and his close aides at some point. He said Altaf’s voice showing pain could produce unrest in Karachi, if the UK government arrested him.
He added that situation might worsen if Altaf demands Mohajir province before his arrest. In that case, the three demands of the MQM would not be accepted, he said, adding that the government had handed over Karachi to the military establishment.
During the programme, MQM leader Farooq Sattar said they resigned from assemblies and opted out of talks in protest. They were disappointed with the Parliament and did not expect that their voice would be heard at any level in the current system, he added.
Instead of taking notice of extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances of MQM workers besides arresting the killers of party activists, the MQM had been held responsible for every wrongdoing, Sattar said.
He said there was an unannounced ban on telecasting the speeches of Altaf who himself in Hamid Mir’s programme had said that he did not want to say controversial things. Law and Constitution should be used to find out the remedy in case Altaf had stated anything unlawful and against the Constitution besides obtaining a court order about the ban, Sattar added.
He described freedom of expression as the soul of democracy and said democracy was of no use when the chief of the country’s the fourth largest party was not allowed to talk to the people. He said there was no mention of either the MQM or Altaf in the Pemra’s orders about not airing the live speeches and media could telecast his speeches through delay mechanism.
Claiming that there was no civilian authority, law and Constitution in the country, Sattar said they were moving the Lahore High Court against the ban and would see whether the government was going to support them on the issue.
He said the unannounced ban was a challenge to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s writ. He said they wanted to know about the extent of executive and constitutional powers of the prime minister who had done the same with the MQM in 1992.
According to Sattar, the MQM has submitted its resignations in the Parliament but no one is giving a reply. His party has been made a target. The MQM’s loss is a loss of the entire country. Being the citizen of Pakistan, he enjoys same rights as that of the PPP or the PML-N leaders who may face a similar situation in future.
He said the MQM was a peaceful party and showed its reaction in a political way, adding that media trial should be avoided.
The London-based Geo News reporter Murtaza Ali Shah said hot news were expected in London regarding the political affairs of Pakistan and the criminal investigation. He said the Scotland Yard believed Mohsin played the main role in Imran Farooq’s murder, adding that Khalid Shamim and Moazzam Ali assisted him but it was Mohsin who stabbed the MQM leader to death and lived there with Kashif Khan Kamran.
Shah said the same Scotland Yard team was investigating the murder episode and the money laundering case. He said Mohsin, in his confessional statement to the Scotland Yard, shared the names of seven persons who had helped in staying in London.
According to Shah, Mohsin also lived in a MQM-owned property located in Edgware. Interior Minister Chaudhry has told the British authorities that Pakistan would assist them but they too should expedite the cases.