Altaf Hussain warns Pakistanis of 'Islamic State' threat

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief, Altaf Hussain said on Friday that the Islamic State (IS) or ‘Daish’ as it is referred to in Urdu is the new threat to Pakistan.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi via telephone from London, the MQM Chief said, that Taliban militants are joining ‘Daish’ (IS) ranks. He added that their flags are visible from the south of Punjab all the way till the Federal Capital, Islamabad. He said that the IS, which has been formed by its chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by merging different militant groups, was far more dangerous than the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Altaf Hussain told journalists, that America asked Pakistan to create the Taliban following the Cold War, adding that Pakistan, United States, Saudi Arabia along with many other states supported the Taliban Mujahideen fighting against the Soviet Union.

Hussain said, he had voiced his concerns about rising Talibanization in Karachi. He also highlighted that while Imran Khan and Dr. Tahirul Qadri are speaking about empowering the middle-class and lower middle-class voters, it was MQM that empowered the middle-class sending representatives from these strata to the assemblies.