Pak police free MQM lawmaker accused of double murder

Pakistani police today released a former Mutthaida-e-Qaumi Movement lawmaker, whose arrest had led to growing tensions between the party and the Sindh government.
Nadeem Hashmi was released after the investigation team found no evidence against him in the alleged target killing of two policemen in Nazimabad. Hashmi had been booked and arrested under terrorism and murder charges.
"Investigations have proved what we have been saying all along that Hashmi was arrested without any proof," senior MQM member Wasay Jalil said after the lawmaker's release.
Hashmi's arrest last week had led to a shutdown in the city and relations between the MQM and the provincial government of the Peoples Party soured.

MQM which is the single largest party in Pakistan's biggest city has called for the operation to be unbiased and only for improving the law and order situation in the city.
MQM had staged a walkout from a Sindh Assembly session in protest of the arrest of Hashmi and other party leaders.

Meanwhile MQM chief Altaf Hussain told party workers in an address that the central government should not bow down in front of the Taliban militants in order to make the peace talks a reality.
The MQM chief said that if the government caves in to the demands of the militants, conditions in the country would become "worse than those in Somalia".

Altaf said if Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wanted to call another All Parties Conference to decide how to proceed with peace talks with the militants, he should do so.
"Go ahead with peace talks but maintain your dignity," he said, adding the state's writ needed to be protected.