Senior leaders of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have strongly criticised Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chairman Altaf Hussain’s “derogatory” remarks against the armed forces of the country.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, in a statement, called the MQM chief a traitor for seeking ‘RAW’s help’ and said he had hurt the sentiments of millions of Pakistanis. He went on to ask Altaf to tender an unconditional apology over his statements, while asking his party to distance and disassociate themselves from the MQM chief’s remarks.
Federal Information Minister Pervez Rashid also criticised the MQM chief, saying his statement would only strengthen criminals.
He said that the security institutions are trying their utmost to purge the country of terrorists and establish peace. He applauded the armed forces for their efforts to ‘free Karachi of terrorist elements’, adding the security institutions enjoy complete support of democratic forces and the media.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also expressed his displeasure and urged the MQM leadership to abstain from issuing such statements.
He lamented that the tone of Altaf did not represent a Pakistani in him. “MQM is a political party and its leaders should not speak a language similar to that of our enemies.”
