Altaf opts for takeover over state dissonance

If Taliban version of Sharia law is enforced, the very existence of the country would be jeopardised, says MQM chief.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Tuesday offered his own prescription for purging the country of terrorism, saying the prime minister and the army chief must be on the same page. In case the civilian government and the military cannot come on the same page against terrorists, the MQM leader said he would ask the military to come forward and take over the country to establish the writ of the state.

In a statement issued by the MQM, Altaf said in a television interview that he didn’t support dictatorship neither was he calling for a military takeover. However, given the grave challenges faced by the country, he said, we will have to decide between saving the country and salvaging democracy.

He blamed the flawed policies of the past for the ongoing terrorism and lawlessness in the country. If the Taliban version of Sharia law is enforced, the very existence of the country would be jeopardised, he added.

Altaf said that the founder of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had never envisioned Pakistan as a theocratic state. The Quaid-e-Azam had made it clear that in Pakistan followers of all faiths would be allowed to practice their religions freely, and religion would have no role in the affairs of the state.

The 1973 Constitution is in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah as was endorsed by leading religious scholars of that time, the MQM chief said. The constitution clearly states that nobody is allowed to impose his or her faith on others. If anybody does, it will be unconstitutional as well as against the teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah.

Altaf said that MQM is only party that emerged from the middle class. However, he lamented that several journalists, anchorpersons and columnists supported governments of the capitalists and feudal lords and opposed the party of the poor and the downtrodden.

The MQM chief called for setting up a ‘martyrs fund’ for helping the heirs of militarymen, policemen and paramilitary DC troops killed while fighting terrorists. He urged upon the affluent people to contribute generously to this fund.


Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2014.