Govt begins to take Altaf words legally

Referring to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain’s recent diatribe against the state institutions, Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told journalists on Tuesday that a legal reference was being prepared against MQM chief for his provocative statements.

The interior minister said that the reference, which is to be sent to the British government, will envisage the element of criminality, and its contents will be shared with the media.

Nisar said the cases that were registered against Hussain in London were not of a political nature but judicial. He assured that requirements of justice will be fulfilled in any case. He maintained that both Pakistan and the United Kingdom are cooperating in Imran Farooq murder and money laundering cases.

The minister maintained that the government had nothing against Hussain and it was Pakistan’s international responsibility to cooperate with the British government. “This case is not about MQM, it is not even about Altaf Hussain; it is about the murder of a Pakistani which took place in London,” Nisar reiterated.

Nisar further said that the previous government had not cooperated with UK authorities in these cases and the incumbent government had begun cooperating with them soon after coming to power.

“As interior minister, I assure you that Pakistan’s security interests will not be allowed to be affected by any negativity, be it from Altaf Hussain or someone else,” the interior minister said.

Separately, the interior minister met with British High Commissioner to Pakistan Philip Barton on Tuesday and discussed Pakistani government’s decision to prepare a reference for legal proceedings against MQM chief. Barton and Nisar also spoke about the investigation of Dr Imran Farooq’s murder case.

NIPPING TERRORISM IN THE BUD:

Earlier, addressing a ceremony at Rawalpindi Police Lines, the interior minister said the noose had been tightened around terrorists. He substantiated that the worsening of situation in Karachi was not attributable to the performance of the government, Rangers or the Army, rather to Altaf Hussain’s “loose talk”.

Nisar added that the war on terror was not over yet, however the overall situation had improved in the last two years. He explained that the police had a significant role to play in the decisive phase that the war against terrorists in Pakistan had entered.

Nisar lauded police personnel for their efforts and said the entire nation saluted them for fighting terrorism. He advised that the police should adopt unconventional methods in order to cope with various challenges.

He said that the war on terror could not be won without the entire country’s cooperation. He said citizens’ committees should be established in this regard, adding that the military, civil armed forces, police and intelligence agencies must coordinate for succeeding in the war against terrorism.

WHEN ALTAF ‘WAGED WAR’:

Previously while addressing the 19th worker’s convention in Dallas on Saturday, the MQM chief had asked MQM activists to approach the United Nations and NATO headquarters in the United States and “inform them of human rights abuses against the muhajir community”, according to a statement on the MQM website.

He had also told MQM activists to “ask for NATO and UN forces to be sent to Karachi to ascertain who is responsible for the bloodshed in Karachi”.