A ruling party minister in Pakistan's violence-plagued city of
Karachi resigned Sunday, charging that the city's largest political
party was behind the bloodshed and its leader was a "killer",
allegations that could spark more trouble.
Holding a copy of the
Quran, the Muslim holy book, Zulfikar Mirza accused the powerful
Muttahida Qaumi Movement of responsibility for kidnapping, extortion
and violence that has killed more than 400 people since July. He also
accused the party of killing journalist Wali Khan Babar earlier this
year.
"I am saying it openly that the MQM killed him," he told a news conference televised live around the country.
In
unusually blunt comments, he singled out MQM leader Altaf Hussein, who
critics say runs the party like a cult from his home in London, as a
"killer" and the head of a "terrorist organization."
In a
statement, the MQM said Mirza himself was a patron of murderers and his
remarks were a "heinous bid to spark the fire of hatred, violence and
insurgency."
There was no immediate reaction on the streets of the city of 18 million people.
The
city, Pakistan's economic hub and largest city, has long been plagued
by ethnic and political bloodshed, but the current surge has been
particularly prolonged.
Analysts say the MQM is involved in a
turf war with another political force in the city, the Awami National
Party, and the Pakistan Peoples Party, of which Mirza was a member.
Killers linked to the parties are behind most of the violence, they say.
The
MQM represents the region's Urdu-speaking population, while the ANP is
supported by Pashtuns who have arrived in the city in great numbers
over the last 10 years, challenging the dominance of the MQM. Many
victims have been targeted because of their ethnic background.
Mirza,
who was the senior minister for the PPP in the city, said he was
resigning because of differences with Interior Minister Rehman Malik,
who is trying to negotiate an end the violence. The bloodshed in
Karachi threatens the nation's stability, because the parties are in
the ruling coalition government. The violence is a major distraction
from the country's battle against militants. AP
