KARACHI: Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major-General Asim Bajwa on Friday condemned the statements made by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain regarding the Pakistan Army and said the matter would be legally pursued.

In a series of tweets, the DG termed the MQM chief's remarks regarding the army and its leadership as "uncalled for and disgusting", adding that such references to the army and its leadership in response to the arrest of criminals who may have links with a political party would not be tolerated.

Maj-Gen Bajwa said legal action would be taken against such remarks and the use of media to incite the people of Pakistan to rise against the state.

He also tweeted that the army and law enforcement agencies would continue to carry out operations as assigned to them.

The MQM's Rabita Committee said in a statement that party chief Altaf Hussain had not criticised the military leadership.

The statement added that the MQM supremo had rather praised the steps taken by the army and asked Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to dispense justice.

Earlier, MQM chief Altaf Hussain in a late night address criticised the military and said the party had always been discriminated against.

"Those who surrendered are called patriots while the founders of Pakistan are dubbed as traitors,” he said.

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Altaf claimed that those in the corridors of power had never accepted them as "sons of the soil". He said that "Pakistan would bear irreparable loss, if atrocities against us [the MQM] are not stopped".

The MQM supremo said that other ethnic groups had also established nationalist organisations in the country but only his party was subjected to operations.

He said that earlier in 1992, members of the MQM were declared as Indian agents and also raised the point as to why the MQM is always linked with India and not with any other country.

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Maintaining a relationship with India is our moral and hereditary responsibility, he further said.