ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani on Thursday took up the issue of

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Altaf Hussain’s anti-Pakistan

activities with Speaker of the House of Lords Lord Fowler at Westminster in
London.

Also, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah
warned the federal government and the “establishment” against any plan to
ban the MQM.

According to an official handout issued by the Senate secretariat, Mr Rabbani

asked the newly elected speaker of the House of Lords to prevent the use of
British soil for the “export of violence” in Pakistan.

Lord Fowler had assumed office on Thursday morning and his meeting with Mr
Rabbana was his first official engagement.

The Senate chairman, who is on a five-day official visit to the UK, raised the
issue with the speaker two days after the Pakistan government sent a reference
against the MQM’s beleaguered leader to the British authorities seeking action
against him for inciting violence in Pakistan.

The interior ministry had sent to the British authorities Mr Hussain’s Aug 22
speech and evidence proving that he provoked people to violence.

The reference says that Mr Hussain has violated British and international laws
and, therefore, action should be initiated against him under the British laws
for inciting violence and spreading unrest in Pakistan.

The Senate chairman also drew the attention of the Lord speaker to the blatant
violation of human rights in India-held Kashmir. He spoke of the hundreds of
deaths and injuries to the innocent civilians at the hands of the Indian troops.
He particularly highlighted the use of pellet bullets by the Indian forces as a
result of which hundreds of children had lost their eyesight.

The chairman also spoke of the importance of parliamentary diplomacy in

building and strengthening relationship between Pakistan and the UK and
called for exchange of delegation of members of parliament.

NA opposition leader
Talking to reporters at his Parliament House chamber, PPP’s Khurshid Shah
said that there was no need to impose a ban on the MQM after its leaders’
categorical announcements that they had nothing to do with Altaf Hussain
after his Aug 22 speech.
“The federal government and the establishment should not even think of
banning the MQM,” he said, adding that the party must be given an
opportunity to carry out its political activities.

He was of the view that things would automatically become clearer in six
months’ time. He said that anyone who supported Altaf Hussain would be
considered an “enemy of the country”.

Mr Shah said that an MQM delegation had met him recently and assured him
that they had distanced themselves from Altaf Hussain. He said whosoever
kept a secret contact with Mr Hussain would soon be exposed before the
public.

Mr Shah had, during his meeting with the UK high commissioner in Pakistan
on Tuesday, also raised the issue of Mr Hussain’s anti-Pakistan activities.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2016