Pakistan

Punjab govt allows MQM to hold convention outside Qaddafi Stadium

MQM chief Altaf Hussain appeals to the masses to deposit funds for holding the convention.

Express March 26, 2011

LAHORE: The District Government of Lahore on Saturday allowed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to hold a convention outside Qaddafi Stadium instead of the Minar-e-Pakistan on April 10.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, District Coordination Officer (DCO) Lahore Ahad Cheema said that the government had made foolproof arrangements to ensure security during the convention.

MQM chief Altaf Hussain has appealed to the masses to deposit funds for holding the convention.

Earlier, the Punjab government had refused to allow the MQM to hold a public meeting at Minar-e-Pakistan and proposed three alternative sites instead. The government had said that security could not be provided at an open place like Minar-e-Pakistan, and offered the Expo Center, Alhamra Hall and the Ferozpur Road as alternatives.

Observers feel that the PML-N-led Punjab government may have had political reasons for its refusal of permission to the MQM, particularly since the meeting in question was planned in conjunction with the PML-N’s rivals in the Punjab, the Quaid faction of the PML. The MQM and PML-Q have announced a political alliance for the 2013 Punjab Assembly elections in a bid to challenge the PML-N’s dominance in the province.

COMMENTS (6)

tar | 13 years ago | Reply it is very bad for punjab if mqm convention got popularity bcz they are not true Pakistani.mqm leader is settel in uk and plz keep in meind thet he never like to see Pakistan as a great country,so plz avoid his convention

Zahid Malik | 13 years ago | Reply If MQM really needs to build public support and work on its public relations in the country beyond the cities of Karachi and Hyderabad, they need to do some of the following: Get their party workers and members to stop their thuggish activities in the city, which includes extortion, protection money, and threatening the lives of the affluent people of their own cities first. One can often see working class thugs claim money from businesses or free food from restaurants claiming to be 'Party kay banday'. They also need to curb the Anti-Punjabi attitude that is widespread in their political circles, the Punjabi community in Karachi makes up over 1/5th of Karachi's population with most of it having some roots or the other in Pakistan's largest province. Currently MQM has a bad image in cities like Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, mostly due to their disliking of ethnic Punjabis. Punjabi's like the Urdu speaking communities in Karachi also are migrants to the city. Great ethnic diversity in their political party, though they have some ethnic Sindhis, Punjabis and Pashtuns in their ranks, their still very few in number. Being a dominant political group in the nation's largest city, they need to seriously make a strong and pro active effort to bring an end to crime and target killings in the city. I am certain their own party members have been victims of crime and target killings, it is high time something is done. They need to re-organize their student wing, and transform it into purely an organization that is purely a Students Union, and mainstream party politics are kept out of public universities in Karachi. Places like KU, NED, DOW etc are a hot bed for political activities, these student political wings can work towards development and prosperity of lives of students across public sector institutions. Seriously hire a full time professional Public Relations Consultant, there is no sh{ortage of PR consultants in Karachi and Lahore, hire their services. Provide groundbreaking visionary leadership, for which I currently see potential in Farooq Sattar and Governor of Sindh, if they live upto their potential, they can achieve great things, above and beyond anything the Shareef brothers brag about.

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

salim | 13 years ago | Reply @Mohammad Ali Siddiqui: Absolutely correct! Wish them all the luck for success in Punjab! And those who are unhappy can go and fly a kite!

AHZ | 13 years ago | Reply @adnan bilwany: one thing left in your adjective and that is middle class will come up now.

adnan bilwany | 13 years ago | Reply Great,now punujab can also experience the wonders of target killings,mass scale extortion ,burning of buses & shops & the arm twisting of the media.

Mohammad Ali Siddiqui | 13 years ago | Reply MQM is MQM wherever it holds convention whether in Lahore or any other part of Pakistan. It is a political party of 98% middle and lower middle-class people of Pakistan who have been deprived to rule the country since 1947. Pakistan after 64 years of its independence, need to root out corruption and nepotism in every sphere of life. It is only MQM in the country which is truly representing the silent majority of the masses. The day is not very far when MQM will elect its President and Prime Minister from the National Assembly as well as Chief Ministers from all the four Provincial Assemblies. MQM is a party which intends to bring change for the betterment of a common man in the country in its true sense. Supporting MQM is equivalent to supporting a common man in the country. Let’s join our hands together and save the remaining Pakistan of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Replying to X