Army decides to give Altaf the attention he seeks

• Karachi corps commander listens to MQM chief’s reservations about Karachi operation
• Promises to form six-member monitoring committee to investigate charges of extra-judicial killings by Rangers

It seems the army has finally lend an ear to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chairman Altaf Hussain, as the top general in Karachi listened to the former’s grievances about the Karachi operation and promised to form a committee to investigate every complaint of the party.

It all started after a statement of the MQM chief was released on Friday night in which Altaf Hussain said he was writing an open letter to Chief of the Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif about “extrajudicial killings of Urdu-speaking innocent workers of the MQM by Rangers, their arrests and torture” during the Karachi operation.

According to a newspaper’s report, neither the federal government nor the provincial government has done anything to allay the MQM’s reservations about the operation in which, according to the party, dozens of its workers and sympathisers have fallen victim to extrajudicial killings.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had chaired a high-level meeting in Karachi on Thursday, but he did not ask as to why a monitoring committee was not formed, the newspaper quoted an unnamed MQM official as saying.

According to an MQM press statement released on Friday night, Karachi Corps Commander Lt Gen Sajjad Ghani and Hussain discussed at length about the MQM’s complaints regarding the Karachi operation.

The corps commander assured Altaf Hussain that steps would be taken to make the operation impartial and all complaints would be thoroughly investigated.

“During the conversation it was also decided to form a six-member committee comprising three MQM members and three representatives of the law-enforcement agencies,” said the statement.

“The committee will look into every complaint and action will be taken against those found involved in breaking the law, irrespective of their affiliation.”

The MQM statement concluded that the Karachi corps commander listened to Altaf Hussain’s complaint as an “impartial, honest and committed” officer. After this, the MQM chief decided not to write an open letter to the army chief