Army seems helpless against terrorists: Altaf Hussain

KARACHI: Commenting on the targeted killing of Rangers in Lyari, Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) leader, Altaf Hussain Thursday asked: Is Pakistan Army or Rangers helpless against the terrorists? If that is so then citizens should make own security arrangements, Geo News reported.

Altaf Hussain said this while talking to the members of the Co-ordination Committee at the International Secretariat in London and Khursheed Begum Secretariat in Karachi.

Retrospecting the 1991-92 crises, the MQM leader said, back on 18th June 1991, Major Kaleem of the Rangers and three other personnel along with “Haqiqi” hoodlums and took over Landhi Sector office of the MQM.

“The terrorists, on that day took a large number of MQM office-bearers and workers hostage, including the members of the assembly,” said MQM leader.

After this incident, the Army prepared for another year and started a clean-up operation and descended on Karachi in collusion with trained “Haqiqi” terrorists, Altaf Hussain added.

“Thousands of MQM workers were killed in a cold-blooded manner during the operation. MQM workers were forced to change their loyalties and houses of hundreds of workers were set ablaze”, he said.

Juxtaposing the two incidents, he said now the situation has been reversed.

Officers and men of the same force, which had conducted the operation cleanup in Karachi in 1992, were kidnapped, tortured, and killed in Lyari, but the army seems to he standing as a silent spectator doing nothing.

Altaf urged the people to once again make arrangements for their protection on the self-help basis advising them to form volunteer teams for security purposes.