MQM condemns remarks made by Khawaja Asif

KARACHI: The coordination committee of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has demanded Defence Minister Khawaja Asif apologise to ‘the 50 million Mohajir community’ for insulting and using foul language against them on the floor of the National Assembly.
Addressing a press conference at Khursheed Begum Memorial Hall, senior MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar threatened to boycott the proceedings of the both the National Assembly and Senate if Asif did not tender his apology.
Farooq Sattar said that the defence minister’s statement speaks of his prejudiced mindset which displayed bigotry adding that he had crossed all limits by undermining the Mohajirs by saying that only those who migrated from East Punjab are real Mohajirs.
“He has hurt the sentiments of the Mohajir community who sacrificed for the creation of Pakistan. The statement of Khawaja Asif portrays his biased attitude towards Mohajirs,” he remarked.
“He (Khawaja Asif) tried to damage the history of Pakistan’s independence,” Farooq Sattar added.Earlier, an emergency meeting was held at the MQM’s headquarters which strongly condemned the ‘prejudiced and hateful’ statement of the defence minister.
The defence minister on the floor of the National Assembly reportedly said that only those who migrated from Ludhiana and Jalandhar are genuine Mohajirs.Dr Farooq Sattar was also critical of the defence minister for wrongly saying in the National Assembly’s proceedings that the MQM was against the extension of the Army (Amendment) Ordinance 2015.
The MQM had presented a resolution condemning the derogatory remarks against the Mohajirs, said leader of the opposition Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hasan.Altaf Hussain in his statement from London categorically stated that if a powerful entity kept attacking the weak, the latter had the right to retaliate against any aggression.