The MQM's self-exiled chief, Altaf Hussain, in a statement faxed from his London home, condemned Sharif for issuing an ``irresponsible statement'' against his party. He said it was a ``veiled message'' to the bureaucracy and security agencies on ``how to deal with MQM workers'' in the changed scenario.

Urging party activists to go underground ``as government agencies have begun operations'' against them, Hussain said, ``I must hope that you will show courage as demonstrated in the past''. The MQM chief's warning comes in the wake of Sharif's accusation that the party was involved in the killing of Hamdard Foundation head Hakim Saeed. The prime minister gave MQM a three-day ultimatum to hand over the culprits to the government.

Hussain's statement came after the party'sco-ordination committee yesterday decided to break its alliance with the PML and walked out of the PML-led Sindh provincial government. It accused Sharif of conspiring against MQM after it refused to support him on the controversial Islamic bill. The MQM chief's message suggested that the violence in the Pakistan's commercial capital, Karachi, would escalate in the days to come following a direct clash between the MQM cadres, who virtually rule the Mohajir (Muslim emigres)-dominated city, and the security agencies.

However, the newly appointed army chief, General Pervez Musharraf, ruled out an immediate army operation in the trouble-torn city. He said there was no need to send troops into Karachi ``at the moment'' but added that if the government sought the army's help, it would offer its services.