Army calls Altaf’s rant ‘disgusting’

• ISPR DG says MQM chief’s statements against army ‘uncalled for’, matter will be pursued legally
• Says references to army in response to criminals’ arrest will not be tolerated
• MQM Rabita Committee denies Altaf criticised army, rather he had asked COAS to ‘dispense justice’

Expressing “disgust” at statements made by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chairman Altaf Hussain late on Thursday night, Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major-General Asim Bajwa on Friday said the matter would be legally pursued.

In a series of tweets, the ISPR DG termed the MQM chief’s remarks regarding the army and its leadership as “uncalled for and disgusting”, adding that such references to the army and its leadership in response to the arrest of criminals, who may have links with a political party, would not be tolerated.

Maj Gen Bajwa said legal action would be taken against such remarks and the use of media to incite the people of Pakistan to rise against the state. He also tweeted that the army and law enforcement agencies would continue to carry out operations as assigned to them.

MQM SAYS DIDN’T MALIGN ARMY:

Reacting to the army’s criticism, the MQM’s Rabita Committee said in a statement that Altaf Hussain had not criticised the military leadership.

The statement added that the MQM chief had rather praised the steps taken by the army and asked Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to dispense justice.

Altaf Hussain, in a late night address to supporters at party headquarters Nine-Zero, criticised the military and said the party had always been discriminated against.

“Those who surrendered are called patriots while the founders of Pakistan are dubbed as traitors,” he said.

Altaf claimed that those in the corridors of power had never accepted them as “sons of the soil”. He said that “Pakistan would bear irreparable loss if atrocities against us [the MQM] are not stopped”.

The MQM chief said that other ethnic groups had also established nationalist organisations in the country but only his party was subjected to operations. He said that earlier in 1992, members of the MQM were declared as Indian agents and also raised the point as to why the MQM is always linked with India and not with any other country.

Maintaining a relationship with India is our moral and hereditary responsibility, he further said.

Altaf had then also asked his supporters to start “commando” training.

His speech came after SSP Malir Rao Anwaar held a press conference on Thursday during which he alleged that the MQM had ties with Indian spy agency RAW and presented two suspects who claimed they had ties with the MQM and had received weapons training in India.