Altaf issue will be tackled as per law: UK envoy

Nisar asks British HC to act against MQM supremo; Khursheed seeks Britain’s role in resolving Kashmir issue; ‘Thomas Drew never said Pakistan not provided enough evidence against Altaf’

ISLAMABAD: The United Kingdom on Wednesday told Pakistan that Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s founder Altaf Hussain’s provocative speeches issue will be tackled as per legal requirements.

British High Commissioner to Pakistan Thomas Drew called on Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan here on Wednesday and held detailed discussions on matters of mutual interest and cooperation between the two countries in various fields.

The interior minister asked the British envoy to take action against Altaf Hussain for inciting the public in Pakistan on violence and chaos.

The minister exchanged views with the British envoy on the hate speech of Altaf Hussain and the subsequent wave of violence in Karachi. Altaf Hussain has violated international laws by inciting the public to violence and chaos, said Ch Nisar. He stressed that in the context of mutual relations between Pakistan and Britain, the British authorities should move on legal grounds to keep a check on such incidents and instances in future.

The British high commissioner informed the interior minister that investigations on part of the UK police are in process over this particular issue and reference as well evidences dispatched by the Government of Pakistan to Britain will also be handed over to the police to investigate the entire scenario.

APP adds: British High Commissioner Thomas Drew also called on Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah in his Chamber at the Parliament House. The opposition leader said that the UK should play its role for resolving the Kashmir issue permanently in accordance with the United Nations resolutions.

The international community should take notice of Indian brutalities in Indian-held Kashmir, he said.

Other matters of mutual interest also came under discussion during the meeting.

Khursheed Shah said that Pakistan gives great importance to its historic and friendly relations with the UK.

“We are thankful to the British government for its cooperation in the field of education and health,” Khursheed Shah added.

He expressed the hope that the UK would continue playing its vital role in the world under the leadership of Prime Minister Theresa May.

News Desk adds: After a section of Pakistani media reported that the British high commissioner told Khursheed Shah that there was not enough evidence against Altaf Hussain, a diplomatic source in the British High Commission clarified that Thomas Drew never said  Pakistan had not provided enough evidence in relation to Altaf.

The high commissioner stressed that it was not his domain to comment on matters which are dealt by the police, the sources said, quoting him: “I was surprised to see such a baseless attribution to me. We have taken up the matter with the media where it has been reported. It will be for the police to take decisions in relation to any criminal matter. We cannot interfere in the matters of the police. How can I comment on the nature of evidence when I am not authorised to speak, evaluate it or make a judgment on it?”