Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Wednesday announced observing a "peaceful day of mourning" on Thursday (today) against the kidnapping and killing of four of its sympathisers on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference at MQM's at Khursheed Begum Memorial Secretariat, member of MQM's Co-ordination Committee Haider Abbas Rizvi lashed out against the newly-elected Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, and said that after getting elected, the chief minister opted to visit a "terrorist safe haven" (Lyari), instead of going to the mausoleum of the Quaid-i-Azam.
"The chief minister of Sindh, who should have gone to the mausoleum of the founder of Pakistan's last resting place to pay homage to the great leader, chose to hang out with proclaimed offenders in Lyari." Rizvi then went on to accuse members of the outlawed Peoples Amn Committee (PAC), which is allegedly led by Uzair Baloch, of killing four MQM sympathisers.
"Before murdering them in cold blood, the PAC outlaws made sure that the victims were MQM sympathisers, which makes the incident a case of targeted killing," Rizvi maintained. Rizvi alleged that Sohail Dada group of PAC was behind the murders of MQM sympathisers.
He said that eight MQM workers were still missing and no security agency had taken credit for their arrests, adding that PAC was being used for the "ethnic cleansing" of MQM activists and sympathisers.
Appealing to the people of Sindh to observe "a peaceful day of mourning", he said that Katchi and Katthiawari communities were being targeted just for supporting MQM. Urging Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take notice of MQM workers' kidnappings and killings, he also appealed to Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary to take suo motu notice on these incidents. The MQM leader also demanded of the authorities concerned to mount a crackdown against "PAC terrorists", besides urging the provincial government to pay compensation for the loss of lives of the party's sympathisers.