MQM being punished for not supporting Shariat Bill, says Altaf
By Our Reporter

KARACHI, Oct 24: Chief of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain on Saturday condemned the custodial killing of party activist Fasih Ahmed and torture on Aamirullah and demanded of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to order judicial inquiry into the incident.

In a statement, Mr Hussain alleged that authorities were trying to implicate "the MQM in the murder of Hakim Said for the pacification of the vengence of Nawaz Sharif against the MQM for not supporting the Shariat Bill that would give him a totalitarian and absolute power including his elevation to the position of Amir-ul-Momeneen."

Mr Hussain urged the prime minister to visit Karachi and personally supervise investigations.

"It will not take him four or five days because those who are involved in Fasih's killing are those police officers who at a news conference had confessed that he was arrested by them," he said.

He maintained that even if Fasih was involved in any case he should have been produced in court. Instead, Fasih was killed after being subjected to gruesome torture.

Mr Hussain expressed surprise that during the four-day stay of the prime minister in the city in connection with Hakim Said's murder, instead of going for the killers, MQM activists and their relatives had been arrested and had been subjected to torture.

In this context, he alleged that a former sector committee mem-ber of Liaquatabad, Aamirullah, was being subjected to torture to extract confessional statement.

Addressing the prime minister, Mr Hussain said: "Fasih Ahmed was also someone's son, someone's brother, and his murderers can be easily identified, therefore I urge you prime minister to come to Karachi and provide justice to his family members."

He also demanded that justice be done to those innocent people who had been arrested by the law enforcers.

"Nawaz Sharif is propagating Shariah, but is torture and arrest of innocent people in conformity with Shariah," Mr Hussain said.