Altaf urges workers to stay calm during strike against extortion

LONDON: MQM chief, Altaf Hussain, has warned his party workers to ensure “hundred percent peace” during Saturday’s strike against “extortionists” otherwise their membership would be cancelled, Geo News reported.

In a statement issued here in London, he said that today’s (Saturday) strike was against the Bhatta/Parchi (extortion) mafia.

“Stay peaceful, peaceful, and hundred percent peaceful on this day”, said he in the statement.

Earlier, the city’s business community announced it would observe a shutter down strike and stage a peaceful rally on Saturday (today) to register its protest against gangs of criminals issuing life threats and making extortion demands.

The strike call, given by the All Karachi Tajir Ittehad (AKTI), was backed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, whose legislators and activists held a protest rally in the security red zone.

In a statement issued by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, its president Mian Abrar Ahmed, and the chairman of the KCCIís ruling group (Businessmen Group), Siraj Kassam Teli, appreciated the thoughtfulness of the MQM and its leadership in raising a strong voice against the increasing criminal activities and the recent killings of businessmen and other citizens.

On Friday morning, a large number of MQM workers gathered outside the assembly to protest, while the partyís legislators, after having attended a meeting of the parliamentary party, proceeded to the House, carrying banners against extortion, street crime and kidnappings.

They raised slogans inside the House for almost half-an-hour before the session started. They also raised slogans against ìfeudalism and Karachi mafiaî. One MPA put a banner in the chair of the Speaker.

The MQMís auqaf minister, Abdul Haseeb, said that if protection were not provided to the traders, they would be compelled to shut the city in protest. Soon after the recitation from the Holy Quran, the acting speaker said she would allow the MQM legislators to speak on the issue if they sat in their chairs and allowed the House to offer Fateha for the departed souls as had been a practice in the assembly.

Nevertheless, several MQM MPAs ignored the plea of the acting speaker and continued with their protest. Some legislators accused Acting Speaker Shehla Raza of being partial while Raza urged the MQMís parliamentary leader, Syed Sardar Ahmed, to pacify his party’s legislators.