world

Updated: Sep 24, 2017 11:14 IST

Muhajirs from Pakistan held a peaceful demonstration in front of the UN headquarters here against the alleged human rights violations in the country.

Displaying placards and banners calling the Pakistan Army generals “war criminals”, the protesters shouted anti-Pakistan slogans.

The protest was organised by the US wing of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). The protesters claimed that thousands of innocent people of their community have been killed in Pakistan over the last three decades and several thousands have been held under illegal captivity without a trial.

Joining the protesters from London over phone, MQM leader Altaf Hussain urged the UN secretary general to come forward and help Muhajirs and Balochs who are suffering in Pakistan.

MQM mainly represents Urdu speaking ethnic Muhajirs, who migrated to Pakistan from India during 1947’s partition.

The MQM emerged as a largely ethnic party in the 1980s. It has political dominance in the southern Sindh province’s urban areas - notably in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Sukkur where a large number of Urdu-speaking people reside.