LONDON: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Tuesday apologised to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif and Director General (DG) Rangers Maj-Gen Bilal Akber for his vitriolic speech a day earlier in which he referred to Pakistan as “a cancer for entire world”.

“From the depth of heart, I beg pardon from my remarks against Pakistan, the establishment including Gen Raheel Sharif and DG Rangers,” he said in a statement shared on Twitter by MQM spokesperson Wasay Jalil.

“I was under severe mental stress over extra-judicial arrests and precarious condition of my workers sitting at the hunger strike camp.”

Parts of the speech that went viral on social media showed that while addressing MQM workers protesting outside the Karachi Press Club against “enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings”, Hussain not only raised slogans against Pakistan but also called the country “a cancer for [the] entire world”.

“Being a Pakistani, I assure the Pakistani people, establishment, army, ISI, all higher authorities and leaders that I will never use such words again,” said the MQM supremo.

He urged the authorities to “end all steps taken against MQM”.

“For God’s sake, don’t cut MQM from the national mainstream.”

Hussain also regretted the violence against media houses that were attacked in the aftermath of his speech and asked for the release of MQM leaders who were later arrested.

MQM leader Syed Ali Raza Abidi had hinted in a Tweet that the people who resorted to violence were not party activists but had been “sent for a purpose”.