LAHORE, Dec 28: Adding fuel to the ongoing war of words between the Pakistan Muslim League-N and Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a leader of the former has taunted the latter saying it was the only party of the country not being led by a Pakistani.

Khwaja said his party was ready to accept the challenge MQM chief Altaf Husain had thrown to its leadership for holding an open debate on some controversies and that the PML-N would facilitate arranging Pakistani visa for Mr Husain.

The blame game between the two political parties started after PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif in his public address at Muzafarrabad on Sunday held the MQM responsible for the Karachi violence, saying: "100 people were targeted in revenge after the killing of Dr Imran Farooq in London.”

Mr Sharif also asked that why 50 people were killed in Karachi when Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry went there on May 12, 2007, disallowing Justice Chaudhry to leave the airport building and visit the city.

In his counterattack, Mr Husain alleged Mr Sharif was a product of martial law and that he was ready to debate openly with the PML-N leader the May 12 killings and other issues.

A senior PML-N leader, who requested not to be named, claimed while talking to Dawn his party high command had received credible reports that the MQM had been urging 'non-political forces' to wrap up the present system, arguing that politicians were failing to run the country.

The MQM, he added, was stressing the establishment should take reigns of the country into its own hands to steer it out of the crises it was in.

Believing it would be his party's turn to rule after the PPP's tenure ended, Mr Sharif could not tolerate the “unconstitutional” and “apolitical” attitude of the Karachi-based party and, after consulting his colleagues, gave a strong message to all concerned through his Muzaffarabad speech, the PML-N leader said.

To a query, he admitted the party could not take on board the PPP before launching a verbal assault against the MQM. However, he said that discussing the issue with other parliamentary groups was useless as the PML-Q and the JUI-F were already prepared to lend support to non-democratic forces, and the ANP was not making its position clear on the issue.

He hoped Prime Minister Gilani would be approached for discussing the issue within a couple of days.

All attempts to get MQM's comments on the issue failed as its parliamentary leader in the National Assembly, Farooq Sattar, was not taking calls on his cell phone while Haider Abbas Rizvi's phone was found switched off.