MQM CO-ORDINATION COMMITTEE CONDEMNS MISCHIEVOUS PROPAGANDA AGAINST ITS WORKERS

Karachi: August 28, 1998

The MQM Co-ordination Committee has vehemently condemned a brief news item appearing in a local Urdu Karachi daily in which it has been totally falsely alleged with mischievous objectives that the party's workers had planned to create disturbances against Kentucky Fried Chicken. The said false report further wrongly alleges that the MQM wanted to attack other American fast food outlets with a view to cast blame on the followers of Osama Bin Laden. According to this preposterous concoction the MQM wanted to do this to deflect criticism from itself regarding the alleged desecration of flag false charges against some people said to be its party workers. The Co-ordination Committee asserted that this was a totally venomous allegation and concocted to malign the political image of the MQM and to wrongly show that it was against private commercial enterprises of American origin. It was obvious that this was a planted news item by State Agencies who wanted to undertake such unlawful actions through their hired agents. The Co-ordination Committee asked the people to consider that whereas one professedly Islamic political party was openly demanding the boycott of American products and commerce with Washington but still the said Urdu daily instead of observing on the activities of this party had instead tried to target the MQM on the basis of false and manufactured stories. Such nefarious tactics and conspiracies had been used against the MQM in the past at the behest of such Agencies but always failed because the people of the country are fully aware that the MQM is firmly committed to working in a civilised manner to serve the people. It was emphasised that the party did not have any such policy and all these allegations, insinuations and innuendoes were utterly mischievous, false and unfounded. As such the Co-ordination Committee asked the people not to be mislead by such appalling distortions disseminated by political opponents of the MQM. The party, Committee asserted, is fully committed to the maintenance of law and order in the city and further believes that private businesses regardless of origin or ownership should be allowed to work unhindered and freely as it is expected in all civilised countries. The Co-ordination Committee asked the journalistic fraternity that they should in line with their honoured profession take to task such mischievous reporting so that trust in journalism is maintained as well as public confidence in it.