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KARACHI: In what appeared to be a damage-control exercise, Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain on Wednesday rejected as baseless every allegation levelled by former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza against him and his party, saying he did not write any letter to then British prime minister Tony Blair calling for a ban on the Inter-Services Intelligence.
It took over two months for Altaf Hussain to reject almost every allegation levelled by Dr Mirza against him at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Aug 28. Altaf Hussain did not name Dr Mirza or refute his allegations at his press conference on Sept 9.
However, it appeared that Dr Mirza’s arrival in London has forced the MQM supremo to come out with an emphatic rebuttal of allegations against him. The occasion he chose to reject Mirza’s allegations was a meeting of lawyers belonging to his party.
An MQM press release issued from London on Wednesday evening said that Altaf Hussain spoke over phone to lawyers and replied to their questions regarding Dr Mirza’s allegations.
The MQM chief said that every allegation in the Aug 28 press conference was false, concocted and reflected a “sick, feudal mind”.
In reply to a question, he said he MQM and its leadership were patriotic and could not even think of becoming a part of the conspiracy to dismember Pakistan in collusion with the United States.
In reply to another question about writing an alleged letter to the British prime minister seeking a ban on the ISI, Altaf Hussain said he did not write any such letter to Tony Blair.—Staff Reporter
