The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday submitted resolutions in the Sindh, Punjab and Azad Kashmir assemblies against Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain condemning his August 1 speech.
The resolution submitted by PTI’s parliamentary leader in Sindh Assembly Samar Ali Khan said that, “The federal government must wake up to take action against the British citizen who is continuously spewing venom against the sacred institutions that form Pakistan.”
The resolution demanded that the Sindh government should raise the matter with federation, British government along with the imposition of a blanket ban on Altaf Hussain’s public speeches.
On the other hand, the Punjab Assembly resolution moved by Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed says that the MQM chief had asked NATO, United Nations and even rival India to intervene in Pakistan’s internal matters, which is highly condemnable.
The resolution demands the federal government to take all possible measures to arrest Altaf Hussain and try him for violating the constitution.
In Azad Kashmir’s Legislative Assembly, the resolution was submitted by Finance Minister Chaudhry Latif Akbar.
Announcing rallies against Altaf Hussain from Thursday, Prime Minister Abdul Majeed ordered the two MQM ministers of his cabinet to either disown Altaf’s statements or resign from the cabinet.
Earlier on Sunday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had termed Hussain’s speech tantamount to waging war against Pakistan.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad the federal interior minister said, “The hate-inciting speech, made in a foreign country last night, crossed all limits. Heads of key institutions were insulted.” He added that, “Sarcastic poems were read against the armed forces of Pakistan and accusations were levelled against the army.”
Meanwhile MQM’s coordination committee categorically denied the allegations of calling for Indian or international help by their party chief in his August 2 speech in Dallas, US.
The MQM committee also criticised statements of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti about Hussain’s speech and said he had spoken only the truth.