Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are not subject to the jurisdiction of local courts and other authorities. The concept of immunity began with ancient tribes. In order to exchange information, messengers were allowed to travel from tribe to tribe without fear of harm. They were protected even when they brought bad news. Today, immunity protects the channels of diplomatic communication by exempting diplomats from local jurisdiction so that they can perform their duties with freedom, independence, and security. Diplomatic immunity is not meant to benefit individuals personally; it is meant to ensure that foreign officials can do their jobs. Under the concept of reciprocity, diplomats assigned to any country in the world benefit equally from diplomatic immunity. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 codified most modern diplomatic and consular practices, including diplomatic immunity. More than 160 nations are parties to these treaties. The conventions provide immunity to persons according to their rank in a diplomatic mission or consular post and according to the need for immunity in performing their duties. For example, diplomatic agents and members of their immediate families are immune from all criminal prosecution and most civil law suits. Administrative and technical staff members of embassies have a lower level of immunity. Consular officers serving in consulates throughout the country have an even lower level of immunity. Members of an embassy's service staff and consular employees are immune only for acts performed as part of their official duties It is true that diplomats are exempt from the criminal, civil and administrative jurisdiction of the host country. However, this exemption may be waived by their home country. Moreover, the immunity of a diplomat from the jurisdiction of the host country does not exempt him/her from the jurisdiction of his/her home country. It is also within the discretion of the host country to declare any member of the diplomatic staff of a mission persona non grata (or unwanted person). This may be done at any time and there is no obligation to explain such a decision. In these situations, the home country, as a rule, would recall the person or terminate his/her function with the mission. The Vienna Convention provides for specific measures that can be taken by both the home and host countries in cases of misuse or abuse of diplomatic privileges and immunities. On the whole, diplomatic privileges and immunities have served as efficient tools facilitating relations between States. No UN Member State has so far proposed rescinding the Convention or re-writing its provisions. http://www.ediplomat.com/nd/diplomatic_immunity.htm
Diplomatic privileges and immunities guarantee that diplomatic agents or members of their immediate family:
May not be arrested or detained
May not have their residences entered and searched
May not be subpoenaed as witnesses
May not be prosecuted
BBC LONDON PUBLISHES THE LETTER:) ’الطاف حسین کا خط، خدمات اور مطالبات‘
آخری وقت اشاعت: منگل 30 اگست 2011 , 23:29 GMT 04:29 PST
"QUOTE"
BRITISH MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT URGE NOT TO REPEAT ARMY OPERATION AGAINST MUTTAHIDA QUAMI MOVEMENT (MQM)
5 December 2001
Members of the British Parliament moved an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons urging Her Majesty’s Government to press the Government of Pakistan not to repeat any army operation similar to that undertaken on 19th. June 1992 against Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM).
The EDM presented in the House of Commons on 3rd. December 2001 read as follows: “That this House looks forward to the return of Pakistan to full membership of the Commonwealth; recalls the commitment made by the President, General Musharraf of a return of democratic government in Pakistan; and urges Her Majesty’s Government to press the Government of Pakistan not to repeat any army operation similar to that undertaken on 19th. June 1992 which resulted in mass arrest, restriction including killing and movement of over 15,000 Mohajirs and supporters of Muttahida Quami Movement”. This appears in the Notices of Motions: 3rd December 2001 and the number of the item is 505.
House of Commons
Muttahida Quami Movement, having received the information of the launching of an “Army Operation”, more brutal then the one launched on 19th. June 1992 informed the Members of the British Parliament to take pro-active measures to stop the blood shed of innocent Mohajirs (Urdu-speaking Sindhis) in general and the leaders, office bearers, workers supporters and their relatives in particular. The “Army Operation” that was launched on 19th. June 1992 and continuing unabated in one form or the other resulted in the extra-judicial, summary and arbitrary executions of over 15,000 Mohajirs including the leaders, office bearers, workers, supporters and their relatives and Mr Nasir Hussain (66) and Mr Arif Hussain (28), brother and nephew of Mr Altaf Hussain, founder and leader of the MQM. During the Operation arbitrary arrests, torture in custody and custodial deaths were daily occurrences. “Disappearances” of Mohajirs in general and MQM workers and supporters was a daily routine. Siege and Search operations by the Army, Para-Military Rangers, Police, Frontier Constabulary and Intelligence Agencies were order of the day. Widespread rapes and gang rapes and extortion by the personnel of the Army, Para-Military Rangers, Police and other law enforcement agencies was committed and practiced. The “Army and State Operations” rendered millions of Mohajirs destitute and thousands of Mohajirs forcibly evicted and displaced from the “No-Go Areas” of Landhi, Lines Area, Malir, Korangi, Shah Faisal Colony and part of Liaquatabad in Karachi. Thousands of Mohajirs and MQM leaders, office bearers and workers were arbitrarily arrested and jailed without charges, concocted charges and without due process of law including the MQM parliamentarians, some of them are in arbitrary detention, even today. Thousands of Mohajirs and MQM leaders, office bearers and workers were and are forced to live in hiding or in exile for the fear of their life and liberty. Thousands have been maimed for life during torture in custody of the state.
MQM has always pressed on the demand to establish a genuine “Democratic Middle Class Order” and the end of the prevalent corrupt and kleptomaniac feudal-cum-military rule and manipulated “Democracy” in Pakistan. This rule and the system have repeatedly failed the people and the country during the testing hours of the nation. The creation and patronisation of Taliban, proliferation of terrorism in the name of Jihad, state terrorism inflicted on its ethno-linguistic and cultural nations of the smaller provinces particularly in Sindh and Balochistan provinces and the defeat of its foreign and military policy in Afghanistan are the glaring examples of the failings of the policymakers and the rulers of Pakistan.
The Members of the British Parliament who were already well informed about the brutalities and atrocities subjected to the Mohajirs and the MQM leaders and workers during the State terrorism committed since 19th. June 1992 were petrified having learnt the news of the fresh “Army Operation” against the MQM. The Members of the Co-ordination Committee expressed their gratitude to the Members of the British Parliament over their concerns and efforts to stop Mohajirs and MQM being subjected to the state terrorism, once again.
"UNQUOTE"
ISLAMABAD: Finding no way out of the Karachi quagmire, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have taken their fight to the Diplomatic Enclave in the federal capital, Dawn has learnt. Former MQM senator and member of the party’s coordination committee Nasreen Jalil has written letters to the embassies of the United States, the United Kingdom and China, informing them about the situation in Karachi and accusing the PPP of trying to “push them to the limit”. In the letters, copies of which are available with Dawn, sent to the consuls general of these countries last month, Ms Jalil had cited a news article which alleged that the PPP was behind a “conspiracy” to “pit the ANP against MQM” in Karachi. Diplomatic sources told Dawn that PPP leaders, particularly those belonging to Sindh, had also been presenting their viewpoint to the diplomats in response to the MQM letters. REFERENCE: MQM, PPP take row to diplomats By Amir Wasim | From the Newspaper Yesterday http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/26/mqm-ppp-take-row-to-diplomats.html
MQM & Altaf Hussain Oppose American Intervention in Pakistan
URL: http://youtu.be/H1HYED0Rtto
WikiLeaks on MQM & Karachi Violence.
URL: http://youtu.be/ajn0MSPqsGA
The sources said Sindh Minister for Local Government Agha Siraj Durrani visited the US Consulate in Karachi on Thursday afternoon and passed on his party’s concerns over the situation in the provincial metropolis where more than 100 people lost their lives last week in incidents of target killings. Ms Jalil said in a letter: “In the first week of July 2011, terrorists of land mafia, drug mafia, extortionist mafia and religious extremists under the protection of the ANP carried out indiscriminate firing from Kati Pahari at the residents of Qasba Colony and Orangi Town” taking lives of more than 100 people and keeping the area residents “hostage for five days till the Rangers came to their rescue.” She added that the “MQM fears that the violence in Karachi is instigated under the protection and patronage of the PPP”. Through another letter written a day after Senior Sindh Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza made controversial remarks against MQM chief Altaf Hussain and the Urdu-speaking community, Ms Jalil informed the diplomats that her party believed that Dr Mirza had done it at the behest of PPP Co-Chairman and President Asif Ali Zardari. REFERENCE: MQM, PPP take row to diplomats By Amir Wasim | From the Newspaper Yesterday http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/26/mqm-ppp-take-row-to-diplomats.html
WikiLeaks & USA on MQM's Militancy.
URL: http://youtu.be/56K9qSLr-9U
“Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, acting on the instructions of his boss, in collusion with ANP’s Shahi Syed and terrorists of PPP Aman Committee expressed his intent in clear terms on July 13, 2011, night to the media,” she wrote. “No condemnation has come from the PPP leadership which demonstrates President Zardari’s tacit approval. This alone is more serious than the mere statement of Dr Mirza. It is the biggest threat to the stability of the region and particularly Karachi.” Dr Mirza has always been in the news for his outspokenness and verbal attacks on the MQM and it was because of one of harsh remarks and his open support for the now disbanded peace committee that the MQM had the first time quit the ruling coalition in December last year. “It is for you to understand who is the culprit in destabilising Karachi/Pakistan,” Ms Jalil said in her letters. When contacted, the MQM leader defended her action and said her party had written the letters only to brief them on the situation. “We are a political party. We want them to know what is happening and don’t expect anything from them and nor do we want them to get involved,” she said. She said these countries were interested in stability and peace in Karachi. Therefore, she said, they ought to know what really was happening in the city. PPP’s Agha Siraj Durrani could not be contacted. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar expressed his ignorance about the letters written by the MQM or PPP members to the diplomats. When asked about Mr Durrani’s visit to the US Consulate General in Karachi, he said politicians’ visits to embassies and consulates were a routine matter. There has been a huge trust deficit between the PPP and the MQM despite the fact that the two parties have been continuously holding talks with each other for over three years. Each party claims to have “solid proof” of the involvement of the other in incidents of target killing in Karachi. REFERENCE: MQM, PPP take row to diplomats By Amir Wasim | From the Newspaper Yesterday http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/26/mqm-ppp-take-row-to-diplomats.html
Wikileaks on MQM under USA & UK Pressure on NRO.
URL: http://youtu.be/hB2Xaj-yVP0
Dr Imran Farooq Murder Case (Waqt News 26-08-2011)
URL: http://youtu.be/bpwGjOc7Gzk
ISLAMABAD – The murder case of MQM convener Dr Imran Farooq is nearing its conclusion as the secret agencies nabbed three suspects in Pakistan some days back, while the British police conducted raids in London on Thursday. Khalid Shamim, who also belongs to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is said to be the mastermind of Dr Imran’s murder, and two other youth were reportedly arrested form Karachi a few days back. And presumably, taking action on the leads from the arrested suspects in Pakistan, the Scotland Yard Thursday conducted raids in London. Some 35 police officials participated in the operation wherein they seized documents and other items from a house and an office. However, no arrests were made in the raids as both the places had already been abandoned. Sources revealed that Khalid Shamim was given the task of killing Dr Imran Farooq in London. He sought the help of a man named Hammad Siddiqi, who provided him two boys both of whom belonged to All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organisation. Khalid Shamim arranged student visas for both these boys. The two youth met an unidentified man in London who briefed them about the routine of Dr Imran, and they killed him near his house on September 16, 2010. After the murder, both the killers left for Colombo instead of coming to Pakistan. After reaching there, they contacted the mastermind Khalid Shamim, who advised them to reach Pakistan. A secret agency recorded all the conversation between Shamim and the killers and kept the former under strict watch. Shamim had also planned to murder both these boys as soon as they would reach Karachi. The agencies arrested both the young killers when they reached Karachi from Colombo and shifted them to Rawalpindi whereas contacts were also made with the MQM for handing over Khalid Shamim. Meanwhile, President Zardari and Altaf Hussain also talked about this issue wherein the latter expressed his displeasure over the issue. A high profile official of the agencies contacted Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad for the arrest of Shamim after which the latter was arrested. The killers were made to hear all the recording of their conversation wherein they had planned to murder Dr Imran Farooq. After hearing their own conversation, the accused themselves told the whole story to the agencies. Though Shamim presented all facts in different contexts, statements of all the three accused proved similar at the end. According to sources, UK investigative agencies and Scotland Yard had also contacted Pakistan intelligence agencies and asked for details but Pakistani agencies withheld the details. To a question that whether the MQM activists are involved in Dr Imran Farooq’s murder, MQM leader Wasey Jalil refuted this notion and said they were waiting for details of the case. He said the Scotland Yard was investigating the case that could provide complete details in this regard. REFERENCE: Three arrested over Imran Farooq’s murder Published: August 26, 2011 http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/26-Aug-2011/Three-arrested-over-Imran-Farooqs-murderMQM Leader Imran Farooq Murder Case - Geo News Special Report (25-08-2011)
URL: http://youtu.be/KDp7RD3VEf8
The Scotland Yard investigation into the murder in London of the leading Pakistani politician Dr Imran Farooq has been told that rows within his own party may have led to his assassination.Farooq, 50, was stabbed to death earlier this monthduring an attack in which he was also beaten near his home in Edgware, north London. Farooq was a senior figure in Pakistan's MQM (Muttahida Quami Movement) party, and was in exile in London at the time of his death. The murder is being investigated by Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism branch because of the political dimension to the killing.Sources say intelligence suggests his death was linked to rows within the MQM.Farooq, once prominent in MQM, had taken a back seat. A senior Pakistani source said he may have been about to endorse or join a new party set up by Pakistan's former military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf. The source said of the motive: "It lies within the MQM. Dr Farooq was probably going to join Musharraf."He is vowing to leave his own London exile and return home to launch a fresh bid for power. His new party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, will launch its programme in London later this week.Asked by the Sunday Telegraph about his reaction to Farooq's murder, Musharraf said: "It is terrible that such an assassination could happen in a place like London."Farooq, who was married with two young sons, claimed UK asylum in 1999 alongside Altaf Hussain, the MQM's leader. Hussain, who also lives in exile in London, has said "enemies of the MQM" killed Farooq and they will try to kill him. Pakistan's media reported him as saying on Friday: "Now the enemies of the movement are after my life, but I want to tell them I am not afraid of anyone, whether it's a superpower like the United States or its Nato allies or their Pakistani agents … I fear the Almighty Allah and will never bow down before the conspirators even if they get my British citizenship rescinded." Police in London are still hunting an attacker who, one witness said, appeared to be an Asian man. Analysts say the MQM has longstanding rivalries with ethnic Pashtun and Sindhi parties in Karachi. The MQM has also been riven by occasional internecine violence. Before entering the UK, Farooq spent seven years on the run in Pakistan from criminal charges while the MQM was engaged in a violent battle for control of Karachi. He remained a key party figure. While MQM leader Hussain is protected by private guards and rarely appears in public following death threats, colleagues said Farooq never believed he was at risk and had played a smaller role in the party since the birth of his sons, now aged five and three.Farooq was attacked on his way home from his job at a chemist's shop. He was found near his home after neighbours witnessed what they believed was a fight. Paramedics were called but he was pronounced dead at the scene. MQM party officials in the party's stronghold of Karachi declared a 10-day period of mourning. Previous political killings have triggered riots and deadly clashes between rival factions. Police are keeping an open mind as to the identity of Farooq's killer and their investigation continues. REFERENCE: Pakistan: Imran Farooq murder linked to rows within MQM party Politician may have been about to endorse or join new party set up by General Pervez Musharraf, source claims Vikram Dodd, crime correspondent guardian.co.uk, Sunday 26 September 2010 20.28 BST http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/26/pakistan-imran-farooq-murder-mqm The Karachi king After a bloody conflict in Karachi, much-feared political boss Altaf Hussain fled to London, but he is no less powerful in Pakistan Mustafa Qadri guardian.co.uk, Monday 6 July 2009 18.00 BST http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/06/altaf-hussain-karachi-pakistan-londonKamran Khan on Dr. Imran Farooq (Aaj Kamran Khan Ke Saath - 25 AUG 2011)
URL: http://youtu.be/Wpw3rWAWpUI
http://e.jang.com.pk/08-27-2011/Karachi/pic.asp?picname=1037.gif
http://e.jang.com.pk/08-27-2011/Karachi/page1.asp#;
KARACHI: Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) has strongly condemned and deplored the baseless and malicious reports being circulated against the party by a particular segment of media in connection with the martyrdom of Dr Imran Farooq. In a statement on Saturday, the MQM Co-ordination Committee said that the news circulated by some TV channels, newspapers and news agencies with reference to the martyrdom of Dr Imran Farooq are devoid of truth, baseless and concocted. The purpose of these fabricated and malicious allegations is nothing but to tarnish the image of the MQM and damage its reputation. The co-ordination committee said that the MQM was consulting its legal advisors for a legal action in this regard. The co-ordination committee said that the Scotland Yard was investigating the case, and the media should desist from spreading false and unfounded speculations. REFERENCE: MQM asks media to avoid spreading false reports our correspondent Sunday, August 28, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=8459&Cat=13
KARACHI: In a speech marked by a discernible reduction of bellicosity, Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain said on Wednesday that the Army and the Rangers be deployed in Karachi on a full-time basis to stop it from frequently descending into violence. Mr Hussain set alarm bells ringing late on Tuesday night when he asked the beleaguered people of Karachi — where more than 300 people were killed last month alone — to stock up on ration for at least a month. He said the people must do that even if they had to sell valuables. That the major portion of the Wednesday speech by the MQM chief was in English indicated that he sought to address the international audience in addition to his party’s senior leaders and general workers at the Lal Qila ground in Azizabad. This impression was strengthened by a statement issued by British Foreign Office Minister for South Asia Alistair Burt after speaking to Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad over the phone.
Mr Burt expressed his concern “at the continuing violence and loss of life that Karachi has faced in recent weeks”. He said: “I warned that inflammatory statements from any political party risked making the situation worse and that all political leaders and their parties have a duty to refrain from inciting violence and to reduce tensions and restore calm. “Our Deputy High Commissioner in Karachi, Francis Campbell, has met representatives of all main political parties in Karachi to encourage them to work towards stability in Karachi and the wider region. I have asked my officials to reiterate these points directly with the leadership of the MQM and to discuss our concerns.” While Mr Hussain may have refrained from issuing dark warnings on Wednesday, he was no less impassioned in his appeal for a durable peace in the city. “The Rangers and the Army should come to Karachi and see who is involved in terrorism. They should control the law and order situation here.” REFERENCE: Altaf wants army to quell violence By Mukhtar Alam | From the Newspaper (1 hour ago) Today http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/04/altaf-wants-army-to-quell-violence-british-diplomacy-comes-into-play-for-peace.html PTI to sue Blair for ‘harbouring’ MQM leader By Our Reporter May 15, 2007 Tuesday Rabi-us-Sani 27, 1428 http://archives.dawn.com/dawnftp/72.249.57.55/dawnftp/2007/05/15/nat5.htm UK paper blames MQM for May 12 carnage Rauf Klasra Sunday, June 03, 2007 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=8280&Cat=13&dt=6%2F1%2F2007 KARACHI: Altaf wants CJ to tender resignation By Our Staff Reporter May 13, 2007 Sunday Rabi-us-Sani 25, 1428 http://archives.dawn.com/dawnftp/72.249.57.55/dawnftp/2007/05/13/local3.htm UK urges MQM not to hinder Benazir’s return By M. Ziauddin October 09, 2007 Tuesday Ramazan 26, 1428 http://archives.dawn.com/2007/10/09/top11.htm
Foreign Office Minister discusses continuing violence in Karachi with Governor of Sindh Last updated at 18:46 (UK time) 3 Aug 2011 http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=News&id=639436482
Foreign Office Minister for South Asia Alistair Burt: "I reiterated the view of Her Majesty’s Government that the stability of Karachi is in the interests of all in Pakistan and the wider international community." Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt MP - Following his telephone call with Dr Khan, the Governor of Sindh, Foreign Office Minister for South Asia, Alistair Burt said: “This morning I spoke to the Governor of Sindh Dr. Khan to expressed my concern at the continuing violence and loss of life that Karachi has faced in recent weeks. I encouraged the Governor in his ongoing strong personal engagement to restore law and order. I warned that inflammatory statements from any political party risked making the situation worse and that all political leaders and their parties have a duty to refrain from inciting violence and to reduce tensions and restore calm. I reiterated the view of Her Majesty’s Government that the stability of Karachi is in the interests of all in Pakistan and the wider international community. I said that peace and prosperity in Karachi was necessary to encourage further foreign direct investment which would be vital to Pakistan’s future economic growth and stability. “Our Deputy High Commissioner in Karachi, Francis Campbell, has met with representative of all main political parties in Karachi to encourage them to work towards stability in Karachi and the wider region. I have asked my officials to reiterate these points directly with the leadership of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) and to discuss our concerns.” REFERENCE: Foreign Office Minister discusses continuing violence in Karachi with Governor of Sindh 03 August 2011 http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=News&id=639436482
KARACHI: “The police are only one of several armed groups and probably not the most numerous or best equipped,” according to a secret assessment of the ‘The Gangs of Karachi’ by then US consul general Stephen Fakan in April 2009. The assessment focuses on the Pakistan People’s Party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Awami National Party, Muhajir Qaumi Movement (H), Sunni Tehreek and “Pashtun terrorists”, besides some armed gangs operating in Lyari and other parts of this megapolis. It states that “the PPP’s decision to include MQM in coalition governments in Sindh and at the centre has helped preclude a return to the PPP-MQM violence of the 1990s. But the potential for MQM-ANP conflict is growing as Pashtuns challenge Muhajir political dominance and vie for control of key economic interests, such as the lucrative trucking industry. “Any sign that political violence is returning to Karachi, especially if it is related to the growing strength of conservative Pashtun ‘Taliban’, will send extremely negative shockwaves through the society and likely accelerate the flight from Pakistan of the business and intellectual elite of the society,” the report says. Assessing the overall situation that prevailed in the city, the cable adds that the police consider many neighbourhoods to be no-go zones in which even intelligence services have a difficult time operating. “Very few of the groups are traditional criminal gangs. Most are associated with a political party, a social movement, or terrorist activity, and their presence in the volatile ethnic mix of the world’s fourth largest city creates enormous political and governance challenges.” REFERENCE: ‘Armed gangs outnumber police in Karachi’ By Idrees Bakhtiar | From the Newspaper (18 hours ago) Today http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/23/armed-gangs-outnumber-police-in-karachi.html
Tuesday, August 23, 2011, Ramzan Al Mubarak 22, 1432 A.H
http://jang.com.pk/jang/aug2011-daily/23-08-2011/main4.htm
http://ejang.jang.com.pk/08-23-2011/Karachi/pic.asp?picname=93.gif
International Monitoring of Karachi (Daily Jang 21 Aug 2011) Sunday, August 21, 2011, Ramzan Al Mubarak 20, 1432 A.H http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/aug2011-daily/21-08-2011/main4.htm
On one hand Jang Group file news that Two to three International Espionage setup are working to check terrorism in Karachi whereas in the same newspaper's Islamabad files that several area have been declared out of bound for diplomat:) Keep it up - Jang Main Page 21 Aug 2011 http://ejang.jang.com.pk/08-21-2011/Karachi/pic.asp?picname=3235.gif . http://ejang.jang.com.pk/08-21-2011/Karachi/page1.asp#; .
KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain has warned that a few aircrafts will come and take Pakistan’s nuclear assets away, DawnNews reported on Friday. “While Pakistan is going through a critical time our leaders are busy making foreign trips,” the MQM chief said via telephonic address to the MQM General Worker’s Meeting, simultaneously heard in 26 different cities. Altaf Hussain said that some parts of Pakistan’s army and ISI have developed cancer and the cancerous parts should be removed so the rest can be saved. He said that the government and the political leadership of the country have not guided the nation correctly. “Pakistani nation is being fooled that the nuclear assets are safeguarded. The national security agency should answer the nation in this regard,” he added. REFERENCE: Pakistan’s nuclear assets under threat, says MQM chief http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/27/pakistan%E2%80%99s-nuclear-assets-under-threat-says-mqm-chief.html
"BUT"
US Diplomat Mr. Brian D Hunt with MQM Leader Mr. Altaf Hussain
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMERflOqGrA
BHIT SHAH: The government will be wiped out if it considers sending the Inter Services Intelligence director general to a US court to answer questions, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain warned in a strong-worded speech on Saturday. Hussain was referring to a controversy that has been stirred in the country after a US court in New York summoned the ISI chief to answer charges in a case related to the Mumbai attacks. The case has been filed on behalf of US citizens of Israeli-origin Rabbi Gabriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka. Director-General ISI Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, his predecessor Nadeem Taj, Major Ali and Major Iqbal are among the summoned military officials. Jamat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi are also on the list of people asked to appear before the US court. Addressing a large gathering at the Malakhra stadium in Bhit Shah on Saturday over telephone, Hussain condemned the summoning of the ISI chief in the strongest possible words. “Today, this gathering rejects the ISI chief’s summons and says if he is handed over to the US, the government will be wiped out from the country.” He said that if the US court was going to summon the heads of “our institutions”, then he (Altaf Hussain), too, would request “our apex court to summon the American Central Intelligence Agency’s chief and heads of other US intelligence organisations. He also demanded that the US immediately release Dr Aafia Siddiqi and send her back to Pakistan. He said that some people were warning the MQM that, if it parted ways with the government, there would be ethnic clashes and chaos in Sindh. However, he rejected these assertions and expressed confidence that the people of Sindh would forge unity and thwart all such conspiracies. He warned elements who were “always conspiring to create rifts between the people of Sindh”, and said that the Bhit Shah public meeting had proved to be the last nail in their coffin. He claimed that the MQM was the only political party that was working for protecting the interests of the people of Sindh. “Was it the MQM that vehemently opposed Kala Bagh dam or the political party that considers itself the true representative of Sindh? Was it the MQM that refused to sign the National Finance Commission unless the rights of the people of Sindh were guaranteed?” he asked, rhetorically. Hussain said that the IMF and World Bank wanted to impose new taxes on the poor people of the country, but every such move would be resisted by the party. He also spoke against injustices and oppression in the province. He said those involved in Karo Kari and killing of helpless women in the name of honour should be hanged publicly. The public meeting was also addressed by Deputy Convener MQM Dr Farooq Sattar, Member Coordination Committee Ashfaq Mangi, provincial minister Nisar Panhwar and MPA Heer Soho. Published in The Express Tribune, December 26th, 2010. REFERENCE: Bhit Shah address: Altaf warns govt against sending ISI chief to US court Published: December 26, 2010 http://tribune.com.pk/story/94735/altaf-asks-supporters-if-mqm-should-quit-coalition/
KARACHI: According to a US State Department cable released by WikiLeaks, Interior Minister Rehman Malik suspected that the ‘establishment’ was out to get President Asif Zardari and that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was being influenced by the US and the UK. In a meeting held on November 9, 2009, Malik claimed to then US ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson that the “MQM had repeatedly stated that both the US and the UK had urged the party to oppose the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) – a move that led the government to withdraw the legislation from parliamentary consideration and placed the future of Zardari at risk.” Malik also claimed that the MQM had said that it “had received this message during the Sindh governor’s recent trip to the US and that Altaf Hussain had been approached by the UK govt in London.” Patterson denied that the US had spoken to the Sindh governor. Malik’s motive to meet Patterson was to request that the US issue a strong statement supporting democracy in Pakistan. Patterson commented in the memo that Malik was worried that “Zardari and his inner circle of advisers had lost the support of the international community.” Malik also claimed that the ‘establishment’ was involved in working against the NRO and for Zardari’s exit. However, while the MQM had told Malik that the military was involved, the interior minister did not believe that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Kayani was ‘involved in the plotting’.
According to a leaked memo, Kayani, however, had told Patterson in March 2009 that he may have to urge Zardari to resign if conditions deteriorated. The memo also said that Kayani had hinted at ‘disquiet among his corps commanders who believe Zardari is corrupt and has not been paying enough attention to Pakistan’s economic and security challenges.’ The ambassador recounting her meeting with Malik noted that his belief that “ISI Director General (DG) Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha was unilaterally behind the push to oust Zardari” and Kayani was not involved was “either naive or intentionally misleading”. Patterson wrote that it would be “impossible for Pasha to move without Kayani’s acquiescence.” Pasha had also spoken to Patterson in early 2009 about his concerns over Zardari. Rehman Malik suggested in the meeting that the way to deal with military pressure would be for Zardari to make changes in the military hierarchy. Malik, in the memo notes, “proposed that Zardari recreate the deputy chief of army staff position and move Pasha into that position in March 2010. Zardari could then elevate Pasha to COAS in Oct 2010 on the expiration of Kayani’s term. Malik suggested that Kayani could then be made chairman of the joint staff.” However, the move did not go ahead. Kayani’s term as chief of army staff was extended this July for three more years. Pasha’s term as DG ISI was extended for a year in March 2010.
The interior minister also believed that Saudi Arabia was ‘working to unseat Zardari’. Saudi Arabia’s dislike of Zardari has been documented in several cables by WikiLeaks revealing several reasons – Saudi Arabia feared a ‘Shia triangle’ in the region and Zardari’s relationship with Iran. Malik also claimed the MQM was meeting with the PML – N and Sharif was “pressuring CJ [of Pakistan (CJP)] Iftikhar [Muhammad] Chaudhry to disqualify Zardari.” Malik also said that the NRO expiry would not affect Zardari, and that the CJP would not revoke Zardari’s presidential immunity. Malik claimed that if the CJP did so, “the interior minister can instruct prosecutors to dismiss charges in any court case.” Patterson noted, “Malik’s views on Zardari’s legal troubles presuppose that CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry will be bound by normal interpretations of the law and precedent. Such an assumption ignores Chaudhry’s penchant for ignoring both in recent rulings and his personal animosity towards Zardari.” Published in The Express Tribune, December 4th, 2010. REFERENCE: WikiLeaks episode III: ‘Britain, US pressing MQM to oppose NRO’ By Saba Imtiaz Published: December 4, 2010 http://tribune.com.pk/story/85786/wikileaks-episode-iii-britain-us-pressing-mqm-to-oppose-nro/
Dr Aafia Siddiqui Rally - Address of MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain Part 1
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWL6GdOTePA
KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Chief Altaf Hussain has appealed to the people of Pakistan, particularly the leaders, NGOs, and human rights bodies to unite against the sentence given to Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. Altaf appealed all to join MQM in its rally to show solidarity that the whole of the country is united against sentence awarded to an innocent Pakistani woman, said a statement issued by MQM here on Monday. Altaf Hussain deplored the 86-year imprisonment awarded to the daughter of the nation, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. He said that the MQM would take out a peaceful protest rally to demonstrate to the world that the Pakistani nation stands united against this verdict of a US court. He appealed to MQM office-bearers, workers, parliamentarians, women, students, labourers and people from different walks of life to participate in this rally in large number and make it a success. The MQM Chief made it clear that the rally was not for the purpose of serving party interest, but it was against the conviction of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. All parties must not be deterred to participate by the fact that MQM was taking out this rally, but they should consider this as the issue of self-esteem of the nation, Altaf added. He said that it was the need of the hour to set aside party lines and ideological differences and unite against the verdict of the US court and take full part in the rally. Altaf Hussain made an appeal to each Pakistani to show the world that we stand united against this sentence in the case. The MQM Chief appealed to the MQM office-bearers in Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan to take out peaceful rallies to express solidarity with Dr Afia Siddiqui. REFERENCE: People asked to join MQM's rally for Dr. Afia Updated at: 2311 PST, Monday, September 27, 2010 http://www.geo.tv/9-27-2010/72003.htm
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ID:139128
1/29/2008 13:36
Embassy Islamabad
CONFIDENTIAL
ISLAMABAD 000421
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2018
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, PK
SUBJECT: MQM LOOKING FOR RESPECT
REF: ISLAMABAD 405 ISLAMABAD 281
Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, for reasons 1.4 (b)(d)
2. (U) Ambassador, Consul General and Polcouns met January 25 with Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) mayor Mustafa Kamal and hosted MQM leaders Farooq Sattar and Haider Abbas Rizvi for dinner. Ambassador also met in Karachi with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Zardari (Ref A), the American Business Council, Farooq Hassan, Chief Executive of the Management Association of Pakistan, and former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association Munir Malik (septel). REFERENCE: 2008: MQM told US ‘stop ignoring us’From the Newspaper (14 hours ago) Today http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/28/2008-mqm-told-us-stop-ignoring-us.html
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Former US Ambassador to Pakistan Ms. Anne W Peterson with MQM Leaders
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqYsNc1Y6zQ
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The chief of Muttahida Qaumi Movement(MQM), Altaf Hussain, has demanded of the American Government to withdraw the sentence of Dr. Afia Siddiqui and that she be set free.
In a statement issued from the MQM International Secretariat on Thursday, he criticised the sentence and said that this would lead to what he called more hatred against America among the Pakistani people. Altaf Hussain sympathised with the mother of Dr. Afia Siddiqui, Begum Asmat Siddiqui, and sister, Dr. Fauzia Siddiqui, as well other members of the family. REFERENCE: MQM chief calls for withdrawing Dr. Afia’s sentence KARACHI - 24th September 2010 By APP http://www.aaj.tv/2010/09/mqm-chief-calls-for-withdrawing-dr-afias-sentence/
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Young, Activist Mayor
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3. (C) At age 36, Mustafa Kamal is a young mayor overseeing an ethnically diverse population of over 16 million people in a city with enormous infrastructure challenges (see also Ref B). Kamal proudly recounted his rise from modest middle-class roots through the MQM party structure. Upon election, he was told by MQM leader Altaf Hussain that he must be the mayor for “all of Karachi, not just for MQM supporters.” Kamal seems to have taken this advice to heart by providing basic water and sewer services to neighborhoods of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and others who have long been neglected by their own parties’ leadership. Kamal boasted that Karachi now provides 68% of all GOP tax revenues.
4. (C) Kamal replaced the traditional revenue maker of a land selloff for the elite with new public-private partnerships that lease land to those willing to develop it to expand the city’s tax base. He collected taxes dating back forty years by publishing the names of tax evaders, although he lamented that he had to give the revenue to the federal government before he received his share of collections. He pushed through development of new highways and overpasses to ease traffic congestion and razed houses that encroached on city property to expand public parks.
5. (C) Ambassador asked why Karachi had such a bad reputation despite infrastructure progress. Kamal said the PPP under Benazir Bhutto had embarked in the 1990’s on a series of extra-judicial killings that exacerbated ethnic tensions in the city. MQM’s popularity grew as the population increasingly wanted law and order and protection from violence. He claimed MQM’s disciplined party organization and its practice of delivering services without discrimination was responsible for its growing electoral base. But the bad memories persist. REFERENCE: 2008: MQM told US ‘stop ignoring us’From the Newspaper (14 hours ago) Today http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/28/2008-mqm-told-us-stop-ignoring-us.html
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US Ambassador to Pakistan Mr. Cameron Phelps Munter with MQM Leaders
Dr Aafia Siddiqui Rally - Address of MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain Part 3
Who is Dr. Aafia Siddiqui?
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KARACHI: After six years of silence, Dr Muhammad Amjad Khan, ex-husband of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, has finally spoken up and says that most of the press reports that relate to his former wife as well as his children are false. In an exclusive talk with our sources, he said that most claims are being propagated to garner public support and sympathy for Dr Aafia but are one-sided and in most instances untrue. Dr Aafia Siddiqui, suspected of having links to terrorist organizations, has been charged in a criminal complaint filed in a court of New York on account of attempting to kill US personnel during interrogation and on a charge of assaulting US officers and employees in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 17, 2008. Subsequently Dr Aafia was imprisoned in Bagram for 18 days before being taken to the US for a trial. Due to pressure from Aafia Siddiqui's family, the Pakistan government has been trying to secure her release from the US claiming her to be innocent. Although the US government has guaranteed Aafia the best legal assistance and a fair trial, her family is adamant that she be sent back on grounds that the US authorities have been consistently torturing her for years.
Aafia's release cannot be secured by propagating stories based on falsehood and deception, commented Dr Amjad Khan, in an interview with our sources. Dr Amjad, who was married to Dr Aafia for seven years until their divorce in October 2002, said Aafia's family and supporters should not believe that truth will not be revealed and mere lies will help in securing Aafia's repatriation. He added that he is disappointed with the government's disregard for the law when officials handed over his eldest son, Ahmad, to his aunt Dr Fowzia Siddiqui on his return from Afghanistan last year instead of his legal guardian, his father. The government made no effort to locate me despite the fact that I am Ahmad's real and legal guardian. My address in Karachi has not changed for the past 30 years. Ever since I returned from the US after our divorce, I have been living with my family, he said adding: Both the Minister for Interior Rehman Malik and Dr Fowzia have been taking credit for obtaining Ahmad's release even though there was not a stone I left unturned to locate my missing children and obtain their custody according to law.
Providing documentary proof of the legal agreement between him and Dr Aafia following their divorce, Dr Amjad said that he had been financially supporting his three children Ahmed, Marium and Suleiman until the family stopped accepting the cheques he had been mailing. After the agreement they accepted my cheques till March 2003. After that my cheques were being returned from Aafia's home and that got me worried. Soon after I learnt that in April 2003, Aafia and our children had been picked up by agencies. Meanwhile, he received disturbing reports from the family that Aafia chose to leave Karachi with her children as she feared an attack from him. Curious to locate the whereabouts of his children, Dr Amjad sought the help of the police and government officials to find them. I was aware of Aafia's violent personality and extremist views and suspected her involvement in Jihadi activities. My fear later proved to be true when during Uzair Paracha's trial in the US in 2004, the real purpose of Aafia's trip to the US (between December 23, 2002 and January 3, 2003) was revealed.
Elaborating, Dr Amjad disclosed that he later learnt from media reports that Aafia's family claimed she made this trip to the US for job interviews in December at a time when universities were closed for winter holidays. I also found it very odd that on the one hand Aafia insisted on leaving the US after September 11, 2001, claiming the country was unsafe for us and our children because the US government was abducting Muslim children, and on the other hand took the risk of travelling to that country again without fearing that she may be captured and may never see our children again. While Dr Aafia was in the US, the authorities had been closely watching her, added Amjad. They soon issued the first global wanted for questioning alert for the couple in March 2003. At that time, the agencies did not know we were divorced and I was also unaware of Aafia's involvement with two other terror suspects, Majid Khan and Ammar Al-Baluchi. They wanted me to persuade Aafia to appear for the interview with them and clear the charges leveled against her just as I had done. That is when she went underground and it later became apparent why she chose to disappear, disclosed Dr Amjad. Sharing details of his unsuccessful marriage with Dr Aafia, Dr Amjad told our sources that since their marriage was arranged, he was unaware of Aafia's violent behaviour. She got hysterical fits when she became angry and would physically attack me, but I put up with it for the sake of our children.
Although Amjad and Aafia both were inclined towards religion, he found her opinion towards Jihad to be of an extreme nature that sometimes made him uncomfortable. He became particularly suspicious of his wife's intentions when soon after the 9/11 attacks, she compelled Amjad to leave Boston (where Amjad was completing his residency) and move to Afghanistan where she claimed he would be more useful. The couple, however, chose to come to Pakistan instead for a vacation and discuss the matter with Amjad's family. It was here that his parents noticed Aafia's violent behaviour towards their son on several occasions, particularly when she openly asked for khula (divorce) when Amjad declined to go to Afghanistan. Therefore Amjad decided to file for a divorce as Aafia was adamant she wanted to go. I tried my best to save our marriage, but divorce was inevitable, he recalls. However, after mutual consent, the couple signed a legal agreement whereby the custody of the three minors was given to Aafia, while Amjad was required to pay for their education and maintenance. Although the agreement says I am permitted to meet my children once a week, I was not allowed to do so, claimed Amjad sharing a copy of the agreement during the interview.
Based on his past experience, Amjad says he had reason to worry about his children. I feared Aafia might pursue her political ambitions to the detriment of our children's welfare so I couldn't help following her case after her family claimed she had been abducted. Amjad added that he was tempted to use other means to try and rescue his children in these past five years especially since he had evidence that were missing or kidnapped, he claimed. But I chose to be patient and pursued the case according to the law. He also filed a case in court against Aafia to obtain the custody of his children. When the Court was unsuccessful, I requested the HRCP to include my children's names in their missing persons petition in the Supreme Court and also appealed to the Chief Justice for Suo Moto action as this was the only case where three minors were involved. However, after Ahmad was released and handed over to Dr Fowzia last year, Dr Amjad requested her to allow him to visit his son, but she refused. At first she said Ahmed was mentally unfit to talk, and then claimed that he was not my son but an orphan adopted by Aafia and US reports that his DNA matched Aafia's were also cooked. I refused to accept any of that as I had identified my son as soon as I saw a report on the electronic media of his arrest in Afghanistan.When questioned on what basis was Aafia's family denying a meeting with his son, Amjad stated that the family is punishing him for divorcing Aafia. Aafia's mother and Dr Fowzia had warned me at the time of our divorce that they would take revenge by not letting me meet the children, he said adding. But now they are discouraging a meeting with Ahmad because they fear Ahmad will reveal the truth about Aafia's activities and whereabouts of his siblings over these years. He added that Dr Fowzia had similarly threatened him several years ago by taking a picture of Aafia while she was asleep after she injured her upper lip (by a milk bottle) in an accident. Dr Fowzia warned Amjad that if he tried to divorce Aafia, she would use the picture against him alleging him to be an abusive husband. It was made to appear in the picture that Aafia was badly injured. Today, the same picture is being circulated in the media to claim that Aafia was tortured for years in Bagram, he revealed. Furthermore, Amjad listed the several allegations leveled against him over the years to justify his not meeting his children: First they accused him of kidnapping his three children soon after his divorce with Aafia. To deny this accusation, he lodged a complaint against the family with the Sindh Police and requested officials to help him locate his children, but to no avail.
Later, Aafia's family accused him of being an abusive husband and father preventing the children from meeting their father. Aafia's mother has also accused me in the media of changing the children's names whereas in reality they had resorted to these tactics to conceal the children. He alleged that Dr Fowzia also used the Asian Human Rights Commission, an NGO based in Honk Kong, to mislead the government about his two missing children. The AHRC received the information about my two missing children being in an orphanage in Afghanistan from Dr Fowzia, who was diverting attention away from the place where the children really are.claimed Amjad. Earlier, when Aafia's father died, the family held Amjad responsible for his death too claiming he suffered a stroke after he saw the divorce document. That is simply not true because I mailed the document two days after Aafia's father died and that too because I was unaware of the unfortunate incident. Their family never kept me posted on anything in the six-week period between our verbal and written divorce. I was just as shocked at his death. Moreover, the family alleged that Aafia was in trouble and had been kidnapped because her former husband (Dr Amjad) handed over her personal diary to the FBI. After this, false reports about Aafia's arrest and Pakistani government's involvement in handing her over to the US despite repeated denials by the Minister of Interior and other officials, started making headlines claims the doctor, who has now re-married. It is the whereabouts of his two children Marium now aged 10, and six-year-old Suleiman that worries him now, said Amjad. Like the coordinates of Dr Aafia Siddiqui remained a mystery after she was allegedly picked up in March 2003, Dr Amjad believes Aafia's family may be using the same tactics in the case of his two children, who are reportedly missing.I am sure they are around Karachi and in contact with their maternal family as both Aafia and the children were seen around their house here and in Islamabad on multiple occasions since their alleged disappearance in 2003. They may be living under an assumed identity just like Aafia and Ahmed had been living [as Saliha and Ali Ahsan] for five years before they got arrested, believes the father. He said Dr Fowzia's claim that the children are missing after being removed from the Bagram prison in Afghanistan may be an attempt to attract sympathy of the government and the people and distract its attention from the real location. End. REFERENCES: Dr Aafia Siddiqui's husband breaks his silence after six years Claims most reports in the local media are false Wednesday February 18, 2009 (0605 PST) http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?211551 (Note: This story had also appeared in The News International but removed from web) The mystery of Dr Aafia Siddiqui Declan Walsh The Guardian, Tuesday 24 November 2009 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/24/aafia-siddiqui-al-qaida
’عافیہ نے جہاد کرنے پر زور ڈالا‘ احمد رضا
بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، کراچی
وقتِ اشاعت: Wednesday, 18 February, 2009, 21:32 GMT 02:32 PSThttp://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2009/02/090218_aafia_husband_interview_rh.shtml
City Nazim Karachi Syed Mustafa Kamal giving lecture to the students of Harvard University
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Don’t Ignore Us
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7. (C) Sattar and Rizvi repeated that same ‘please don’t ignore us’ theme during dinner at the Consul General’s residence. They pointed out that MQM was avowedly secular and had repeatedly supported USG policy but was treated like a terrorist group. In fact, Sattar asked for USG assistance in convincing the Canadian immigration service to stop listing the MQM as a terrorist organization; Ambassador responded that we knew that the Canadian policy was affecting some asylum cases in the U.S. We would examine what might be possible on outreach to Ottowa on this question.
Post-Election Coalition
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8. (C) Sattar both defended Musharraf and complained about the Pakistan Muslim League’s (PML) continued dependence on feudal politics that the MQM has abandoned. He noted that MQM had supported Benazir’s return, and Altaf Hussain was one of the first to offer Zardari condolences on her assassination. Still, he made it clear that MQM could work with either a PML- or PPP-led coalition government after the elections. He predicted that MQM would win 20-25 seats in Karachi, but agreed that plans to expand the party’s base had been undercut by blame over the May 12 riots. Sattar admitted it was perhaps not wise to have organized a countervailing demonstration to the one organized for the former Chief Justice. But he argued (unconvincingly) that the decision not to intervene and stop the rioting would have caused additional violence. Sattar pointed out that 14 MQM party members had died in the violence that left approximately 40 dead. REFERENCE: 2008: MQM told US ‘stop ignoring us’From the Newspaper (14 hours ago) Today http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/28/2008-mqm-told-us-stop-ignoring-us.html
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Dr Aafia Siddiqui Rally - Address of MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain Part 4
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFFVKNE1bcM
An American-educated neuroscientist who is the only woman accused of working for al-Qaeda’s top leadership appeared in court in New York last night after her capture in Afghanistan. The US Government alleges that Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani mother of three with a biology degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate in behavioural neuroscience from Brandeis University, near Boston, is married to the nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the man who claims to have organised the September 11 terror attacks in 2001. She is charged with attempted murder and assault for allegedly trying to kill an American interrogator in a gun battle after she was arrested outside an Afghan government compound with a handbag full of chemicals and information on chemical, biological and radiological weapons, as well as descriptions of “various landmarks” in the United States. Her trial should shed light on the mystery surrounding her disappearance with her children from the Pakistani city of Karachi in 2003. Her family claimed that she was abducted and imprisoned in a secret US detention centre. Six human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have listed her as a possible “secret detainee”.
“What a mockery that after five years in detention Aafia is suddenly discovered in Afghanistan,” her younger sister, Fauzia Siddiqui, a doctor, told a news conference in Karachi yesterday. “Aafia was tortured for five years until one day US authorities announce that they have found her in Afghanistan, which shows how they abused their power and tortured an innocent woman without committing any crime.” US officials insisted that they had no knowledge of her whereabouts until she was arrested by Afghan police for acting suspiciously outside the governor’s compound in the central Afghan province of Ghazni on July 17. They said that Ms Siddiqui was with a teenage boy at the time. Prosecutors said that numerous documents were found in her handbag about “the creation of explosives, chemical weapons and other weapons”. Ms Siddiqui is also alleged to have had descriptions of landmarks in the US, documents about US military assets and excerpts from The Anarchist Arsenal.
Two FBI agents escorted by US soldiers interrogated her the following day. The soldiers were unaware that she was being held behind a curtain and a warrant officer put his M4 rifle on the ground. Ms Siddiqui allegedly grabbed the rifle and fired two shots at a US army captain but an interpreter pushed the gun away as she fired. As the soldiers returned fire, she was hit at least once. “The warrant officer saw and heard Siddiqui fire at least two shots as Interpreter 1 tried to wrestle the gun from her. No one was hit,” the criminal complaint says. “The warrant officer heard Siddiqui exclaim, ‘Allah akbar!’ Another interpreter heard Siddiqui yell in English, ‘Get the f*** out of here!’ as she fired the rifle.”
A slight woman, Ms Siddiqui walked gingerly into court last night with her head wrapped in a scarf. “She is shot. She is in pain. We were able to look at the dressing. You can see it’s stained and oozing,” said Elizabeth Fink, her court-appointed lawyer. Ms Siddiqui, 36, shook her head as the judge read the allegations about her trying to shoot a soldier. Her lawyer asked for the case to be dismissed. “I think its ridiculous,” Ms Fink said. “You tell me you can put down an M4 rifle right by your foot and this 90lb \ woman is behind the curtain and you do not realise until the rifle is in her hand,” she said. The US Government named Ms Siddiqui in 2004 as one of seven suspected al-Qaeda associates feared to be planning an attack. Washington said, however, that it had no information linking her to any specific terror attack and that she had not been charged with any terrorist offences. Ms Siddiqui is one of three children of Mohammed Siddiqui, a British-trained Pakistani doctor. She moved to the US from Pakistan in 1990 to live with her brother, an architect, and study. While at university she raised money for charitable Islamic causes such as widows and orphans in Bosnia.
After completing her doctoral thesis she married a Pakistani anaesthesiologist and lived in a flat in Boston that also served as the headquarters of an Islamic charity called the Institute of Islamic Research and Teaching. In 2002 the couple were questioned by the FBI after Ms Siddiqui’s husband allegedly purchased night-vision goggles and body armour on the internet. Within months the couple moved back to Pakistan but soon separated. The US alleged that Ms Siddiqui has links to at least two of the 14 high-level al-Qaeda suspects who were moved to Guantanamo in September 2006. American prosecutors said that Ms Siddiqui opened a post office box in Maryland for Majid Khan, a former Baltimore resident now being held at the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay. Ms Siddiqui later married Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, known as Ammar alBaluchi, a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and a cousin of Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York. Ms Siddiqui faces up to 20 years in prison on each count if convicted. The judge set a bail hearing for Monday. REFERENCE: 'Al-Qaeda woman' Aafia Siddiqui' in court on attempted murder charge James Bone in New York and Zahid Hussain in Islamabad From The Times August 6, 2008 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article4467148.ece
US delegation visits MQM headquarters
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9. (C) Kamal, Sattar and Rizvi all confirmed that Altaf Hussain had expressed an interest in returning to Pakistan, but this idea had been rejected by the party. They feared that another assassination attempt would be made and they would be left leaderless. Nevertheless, while leaving dinner, Sattar indicated that Hussain could, in fact, be induced to return with the right deal for inclusion in a coalition government. (Note: According to press reports, President Musharraf met with Hussain in London this week.) The National Reconciliation Ordinance signed by Musharraf to give Bhutto and others immunity from prosecution reportedly benefited many MQM members; if Musharraf extends the NRO, this may increase Hussain’s willingness to return from self-imposed exile.
10. (C) Comment: Despite some continuing evidence of thuggery, MQM is making progress in emerging as a popular grass-roots political party, and it clearly is improving city life in Karachi. As Musharraf’s visit to Hussain demonstrated, PML very much wants to keep MQM in its coalition corner. But the PPP’s Zardari (Ref A) also believes a coalition with MQM would be possible. Like some of Pakistan’s other small parties, MQM also sees itself as a possible kingmaker in forming the next coalition government. REFERENCE: 2008: MQM told US ‘stop ignoring us’From the Newspaper (14 hours ago) Today http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/28/2008-mqm-told-us-stop-ignoring-us.html
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Date: 20100727 - Docket: IMM-4068-08 Citation: 2010 FC 781 Ottawa, Ontario, July 27, 2010 PRESENT: The Honourable Mr. Justice Mosley BETWEEN: MUHAMMAD RIZWAN Applicant and THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION Respondent REASONS FOR JUDGMENT AND JUDGMENT http://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/en/2010/2010fc781/2010fc781.html
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