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PTI says those named by Saulat Mirza should be put on ECL

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Wada on Thursday said that all those people named by murder convict Saulat Mirza in his video confession should be barred from exiting the country.

In a recorded video message from his prison cell at the Machh jail shortly before his scheduled hanging, Mirza claimed he had been ordered by MQM chief Altaf Hussain to

By GEO ENGLISH
March 19, 2015
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Wada on Thursday said that all those people named by murder convict Saulat Mirza in his video confession should be barred from exiting the country.

In a recorded video message from his prison cell at the Machh jail shortly before his scheduled hanging, Mirza claimed he had been ordered by MQM chief Altaf Hussain to kill MD KESC Shahid Hamid in May 1999.

Among other MQM leaders, Mirza accused former provincial Minister Babar Ghauri of handling target killers and Governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ibad of providing shelter to convicted criminals.

In a statement following Mirza's video confession, Wada said that all those named should be put on the Exit Control List (ECL) so that they are not able to escape from Pakistan.

“These are very serious allegations made against very senior (MQM leaders). All those named (by Mirza), before they attempt to flee, their names should be put on the ECL,” he said.

Wada also urged the government to further postpone Mirza's execution to investigate his allegations and to see if further evidence can be revealed.

Following the confession, the government has postponed Mirza's execution for 72 hours.

Meanwhile, PTI senior leader Shireen Mazari said that Mirza's confessions amounted to further proof against MQM, which the party accuses of running an extortion racket and a network of target killers in Karachi.

Mazari said Saulat had directly named MQM chief Altaf Hussain in his statement.

“How much proof does the British government need against the MQM chief?” she remarked.

Mazari has previously written an open letter to the British High Commissioner, accusing Altaf Hussain of inciting violence in Pakistan through his speeches from Britain. She also accused MQM of being involved in the murders of PTI leader Zahra Shahid and journalist Wali Khan Babar in Karachi.

MQM chief Altaf Hussain has been living in self-imposed exile in London since 1992. He gained British citizenship in 2002 after leaving Pakistan when a military operation was launched to end ethnic unrest in Karachi.