MQM laments arrest of five activists for Godil attack

Karachi
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement complained on Wednesday that the law enforcement agencies were still victimising the party and had arrested five of its activists in connection with the attack on its MNA Rasheed Godail instead of nabbing the actual terrorists who were responsible for it.
Speaking at a press conference at the MQM headquarters Nine Zero, MPA Mohammad Hussain said it was “surprising” that instead of arresting the culprits involved in attacks on his party’s leaders, they were rounding up its activists.
Condemning the attack on Godail, he demanded that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the federal government should provide security to MQM leaders, particularly those who had submitted their resignations from parliament.
“MQM leaders are constantly receiving death threats. It’s necessary to provide security to MQM leaders after the attack on Rasheed Godail and an impartial investigation should be launched to arrest the people responsible for it,” he added.
He said the party’s five activists had been arrested in Orangi Town, Qasba Colony, Jackson and Korangi.
Farhan Ali, an activist of the party’s C-118 Unit, was on his way to attend the funeral of slain activist Abdul Raheem when the police arrested him near his house.
The CID police arrested Muhammad Sarwar, a member of the unit committee, in the same area. Another unit committee member, Anees Ahmed, was arrested in Block 4 of Qasba Colony.
Waqas Qureshi, a party activist, was arrested at the Karachi Port Trust office. MQM unit committee member Muhammad Noor Alam was also arrested in Awami Colony, Korangi.

Khuhro expresses hope
The first round of talks between the federal government’s arbitrator, Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was successful, said Sindh senior minister for education and information Nisar Ahmed Khuhro on Wednesday, News Desk adds.
The second round of negotiations will be held in Islamabad, he said, and all efforts will be made to resolve the political impasse over the resignations of MQM parliamentarians amicably.
Talking to the media after a meeting with the US consul general in Karachi, Brian Heath, at his office, Khuhro said taking an extreme step of resigning from the parliament was not a solution to the problems being faced by the party.
He said negotiations were the only way forward and extreme steps such as the one taken by the MQM makes the democratic institutions weak.
He said parliament was the best forum to raise issues and MQM leaders should raise their voices there, not resign from it.
However, the minister then went on to laud the political pragmatism of the MQM, whose leaders, he said, had continued talks even after the near-fatal attack on MNA Rashid Godil.
He said that the targeted operation in Karachi began with the mutual consent of political parties, especially the MQM, and will continue without any discrimination till total eradication of terrorists.
He said the government will not compromise on the peace of the province and attack on the MQM MNA was part of a conspiracy to disrupt law and order of the city.
He said certain elements did not want to see a stable and democratic Pakistan but their nefarious designs will be foiled at all costs. Talking about the local bodies’ election, the minister said the government was ready to hold the polls but the Election Commission was yet to announce a date.