MQM asks UK to ‘intervene’ over Karachi operation

LONDON: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has called on the British government to “intervene” against the Karachi operation to stop alleged “gross human rights violations perpetrated by the Para-Military Rangers and the government”.
At a demonstration outside 10 Downing Street here, around 150 MQM workers gathered and raised slogans for about three hours against the on-going Karachi operation and alleged that it was aimed only against the “mohajir nation”. Senior MQM leaders Musatfa Azizabadi, Muhammad Anwar, Dr Saleem Danish, Tariq Javed, Imbisat Mallick and Saleem Shahzad were present on this occasion. Dr Imran Farooq’s widow Shumaila Farooq also took part but didn’t speak to media.
Demonstrators raised slogans in favour of Altaf Hussain and said that minus-Altaf formula will never be acceptable to the Urdu speaking community. They said that it was clear that Karachi operation was solely targeting MQM activists while ignoring militants from other parties.
They said that the Supreme Court of Pakistan had said that every party has militant wings in Karachi but only MQM was being targeted. They alleged that hundreds of their workers have been disappeared without the due process of law and their families were unaware about their fate. They said that the Rangers operation will be opposed and called on the government to halt the operation immediately. MQM leaders and workers said that they will stand by Altaf Hussain through thick and thin.
They criticised the recent statement made by Faisal Vawda during his campaign in London and said that he had been asked to run campaign against the MQM. The MQM said in its petition to Prime Minister David Cameron that as a result of the 1992 operation over 17,000 of its office bearers, workers, supporters in particular and Mohajirs in general were killed either in fake encounters or custody following their arbitrary arrests. Thousands were maimed for life due to inhuman torture in custody and even ‘disappeared’ after being arrested in the presence of eye witnesses.
The petition claimed: “As of today: 44 workers of MQM were extra-judicially tortured to death in custody; 20 workers were illegally abducted by law enforcement agencies and their whereabouts are still unknown to their families and lawyers; 3374 (numbers increasing on a daily basis) workers of MQM and members of Mohajirs nation were arrested during the last two years.”
The MQM petition claimed that the current operation is “ethnic cleansing” and a form of “racial discrimination” which was unacceptable to Urdu speaking residents of Karachi. The petition said that the MQM is a “liberal, tolerant and progressive party” which is opposed to “both the Taliban and all forms of fanaticism and extremism” and believes that “government should be based on policy not religion and is committed to genuine democratic government”.
The petition, signed off by Dr Saleem Danish, MQM’s Central Coordination Committee member, ended with request to the UK government to intervene to stop “further loss of lives and sufferings of the office bearers, workers and supporters of the MQM in particular and Mohajirs in general”.