‘Missing MQM workers are being found at PSP offices’

Karachi

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) coordination committee’s senior deputy convener, Farooq Sattar, on Thursday said it was unfortunate that missing MQM workers were being recovered from the Pak Sarzameen Party’s (PSP) office.

He was addressing the media on the first day of the party’s two-day token hunger strike, being observed at the Karachi Press Club, to demand an end to ‘illegal raids, arrests, forced disappearances of MQM workers and unannounced ban on party’s activities as well as the media blackout of its chief Altaf Hussain’.

Warning the authorities that the situation could get critical if the policies were not changed, he said the MQM hoped to get justice from the judiciary but that was unfortunately not the case.

Claiming that there was an unannounced ban on political activities of the party, the senior MQM leader called for the unofficial ban to be removed and the party be allowed to work in peace. Sattar appealed to corps commander Karachi, chief of the army staff (COAS) and the prime minister to take notice of the injustices against MQM.

Besides Sattar the hunger strike was observed by Aslam Afridi, Gulfaraz Khan Khattak, Sathi Ishaq advocate and other MQM legislators.  As per a statement of the MQM issued a day earlier, members of the MQM coordination committee had taken the decision to observe the hunger strike in view of the fake cases registered against their leaders and workers.

According to the statement, MQM's top leadership, including senior deputy convener Dr Farooq Sattar, Kunwar Naveed Jameel, Amir Khan and Sindh Assembly opposition leader Khawaja Izharul Hasan, will show up at the hunger strike along with other party workers.

The party leadership has also declared the arrests of Karachi’s mayor-elect Waseem Akhtar and MQM leader Rauf Siddiqui illegal and unconstitutional.