Govt to take MQM along at all costs: Gilani

MQM accepts Punjab govt’s proposal for venue change.

KARACHI:

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is a coalition ally and the government will take it along at all costs, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said in a meeting with MQM chief Altaf Hussain on Saturday.

Appreciating MQM’s services for strengthening the democratic system in the country, Prime Minister Gilani congratulated Altaf on holding its grand public meeting in Lahore on April 10 (today). He said that MQM’s entry in Punjab’s politics is a positive sign. Both leaders discussed various issues, including domestic political matters.

Media reports said that the prime minister was accompanied by one of his sons Abdul Qadir Gilani, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hassan. He assured the MQM chief of full cooperation in all respects.

The MQM team included Muhammad Anwar, Salim Shehzad, Tariq Javed, Anis Advocate and Mustafa Azizabadi.

During the meeting, which lasted one-and-a-half hours, was held at the MQM chief’s residence where his daughter Afza Altaf presented Prime Minister Gilani with a bouquet of flowers.

Altaf Hussain, who appreciated the prime minister’s sentiments for his party, also prayed for the health of the prime minister’s son, Syed Haider Gilani.

Meanwhile, according to an MQM handout, the party has decided to hold its public meeting on Aril 10 (today) at the new venue suggested by the Punjab government and the local administration.

It said that the party “understands the provincial government’s misgivings about security concerns”.

“The MQM has no issue with the Punjab government and the party recognises the importance of reconciliation and has decided to hold the meeting at the football ground adjacent to the Gaddafi Stadium Road”.



Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th, 2011.