MQM announces four-day token hunger strike

KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) announced on Thursday four-day token hunger strike outside the Karachi Press Club starting from Friday (Feb 19) till Feb 22 in protest against the ban on media coverage of MQM chief Altaf Hussain’s speeches, which was imposed by the Lahore High Court in the month of August last year.

The symbolic hunger-strike of 12 hours will start from 11 in the morning and end at 11 at night to be continued the next day.

Addressing a crowded press conference at Khursheed Begum Memorial Hall on Thursday evening, Dr Farooq Sattar, senior convener of the MQM, said that after this hunger­-strike and protests, our next plan is about staging sit-ins.

Sattar said that it had been six months since the media ban on Altaf Hussain was imposed but it was not known how long this ban would last, adding that even the Supreme Court when approached said that the ban could only be imposed for 15 days.

The MQM leader demanded that the restriction on the party chief should immediately be removed under Article 19 of the Constitution.

Referring to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), he said it was their sit-in which barred the Chinese president from coming to Pakistan. But if the MQM staged a sit-in, the president of the country would not be able to step out of his home, said Sattar. Actually, the ban was imposed on the party chief because he had always spoken of the existence of Taliban and ISIS which was not liked by the concerned quarters, he said.  Responding to a question by a reporter about Altaf’s prediction of the next 15 days being crucial, he said there was no need to worry.