MQM protests against Pemra

KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement staged a protest against what they said the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory’s negative attitude towards party chief Altaf Hussain by enforcing an unannounced ban on his speeches and live interviews.
Hundreds of activists and supporters gathered outside the Karachi Press Club on Friday here holding banners condemning the move of the Pemra against Altaf Hussain. A large number of people including children, women and elderly persons came out in support of their chief Altaf Hussain.
Shouting slogans against what they termed unlawful behavior of Pemra, they said that the ban on Altaf’s speech unacceptable. Supporters were carrying party flags and portraits of Altaf Hussain. Many of the women covered their mouth with strips. Stop the violation of freedom of speech, shame on Pemra were the slogans shouted by the women folk of the party. The roads leading to the KPC from all sides were blocked, with traffic severely disturbed and traffic police seen nowhere.
The protest was primarily meant to raise voice against Pemra but the MQM also expressed solidarity with the injured MNA Rashid Godil, media trial against the MQM and the arrests of several of its activists and workers.
Addressing the protesters, Dr Farooq Sattar said that a conspiracy was being hatched against the MQM in Islamabad, and certain forces were trying to eliminate the party but they have forgotten that in the past too the same tactics were used against us, but masses who are the most powerful tool of the party would foil all such plans, he said.
Certain elements are thinking of the MQM minus Altaf Hussain formula but ‘our resignations from parliament are a clear cut policy that we would never accept this wishful thinking of nitty-gritty.” He said leaders, activists and supporters of the party had full faith in the leadership of Altaf Hussain. They had neither accepted the minus-Altaf formula in the past nor would they accept it this time, he said
The MQM leader said there was nothing new about conspiracies against the party and its leaders and the MQM with the support of its supporters had foiled such conspiracies in the past and will do it again. He said that forces were trying to discredit the MQM but they would not succeed. “The MQM and Altaf Hussain are inseparable,” he declared and claimed that scores of Muttahida Qaumi Movement workers had been ‘missing’, dozens had been killed in an extrajudicial manner and hundreds detained without charges.
He also demanded to stop the media trial and criticised the concerned quarters for violation of fundamental rights of common persons.
“It is a clear violation of human rights that a leader of political party was stopped by speaking to his people and even his live interviews were also not aired” terming it worst kind of dictatorship that never happened during martial law regime.