MQM pioneered extortion in Karachi

Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Asma Jahangir said on Tuesday that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) introduced extortion in Karachi. During the proceedings of the case in the Supreme Court, she stated that the party had a huge terrorists network, which had been creating havoc for the last 10 years, but no action was taken against it. “MQM is the inventor of the extortion while other parties followed it,” Asma said. She said that the court would have to assess its jurisdiction otherwise the people might say in the future that the Supreme Court should also have proceedings in Waziristan. To this, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry replied: “If she gives support then the court will also go to Waziristan.” Later, talking to the media, she said that several political parties, including the banned religious organisations, were involved in collecting extortion from businessmen, traders and industrialists of Karachi, while the law enforcement agencies had names and addresses of target killers and criminals. Jahangir was also critical of PEMRA, stating it was only taking action against misreporting about the government, the MQM and the army.