Sattar seeks end to ‘state atrocities’, condemns #FreeKarachi campaign

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has vowed to counter the #FreeKarachi campaign launched by its rival group, the MQM-London, in the United States.

Addressing a news conference at the party’s headquarters on Tuesday, MQM-P chief Farooq Sattar said the MQM-L wanted to exploit the country’s situation for its “ulterior motives and build its case internationally”.

“The people of Karachi have, however, decided to be part of the national stream,” he said. “The MQM-P is a force to be reckoned with against any such conspiracies.” The #FreeKarachi campaign kicked off earlier this month on January 18 on Martin Luther King Jr Day in Washington DC, with demands to “end human rights abuse, enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killings in Karachi and other urban centers of Sindh”.

Calling it a malicious and condemnable move, Sattar said the “MQM-P stood with the victims of extrajudicial killings and state atrocities but it would not let other play on it”. “A handful people, sitting far away from the country, wish to mislead public and indulge in political point scoring [on the issues],” he said, while lashing out at the MQM-L.

Citing the recent suspected extrajudicial killings in the city, he said it was the failure of the federal and provincial governments. “They have failed to provide security to the people and ensure law and order.”

Sattar said the MQM-P through its peaceful politics would achieve what it could not have achieved in past 35 years. “Such campaigns like #FreeKarachi are intended to tarnish the peace and sow hatred among the people. The people behind this campaign have taken advantage of the hate speech of US president Donald Trump against Pakistan,” he said. “But Karachi will not be duped, again.”

The MQM-P head insisted that “the long-running state atrocities must end” so that no one could get benefit from it to build a case like the MQM-L did.