KARACHI:
The Awami National Party (ANP) has called on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to clarify their position in the wake of the explosive allegations made by former senior Sindh government minister Zulfiqar Mirza.
On Monday, ANP’s Sindh chapter held a high-level meeting in which Mirza’s press conference on Sunday afternoon was discussed in great depth.
It was in the same meeting that the party decided to end its Provincial Minister for Labour Ameer Nawab’s boycott. Nawab boycotted the ministry after the Sindh government decided to drop the commissionerate system.
According to Sindh Information Secretary Qadir Khan, the party has taken strong notice of the statements Mirza made while under oath. The former minister alleged that MQM chief Altaf Hussain had clearly stated that he would not stop killing innocent Pashtuns.
After the meeting, the party issued a statement that said Karachi’s Pashtun population is extremely concerned by these revelations, especially since Mirza made them with his hand on the Holy Quran.
It urged MQM to respond to the allegations via the media as soon as possible and to clarify its position.
However, at the same time, the ANP decided to refrain from making any statements about target killings, especially since the Supreme Court has taken suo motu notice of the situation in Karachi. The party supports the petition filed at the apex court and said that making statements would divert attention from the case.
The statement also addressed the ongoing operation, and claimed that the party has decided to give the Sindh government until the end of their ‘targeted operation’ and would continue to see how it works out despite their many reservations about the surgical strikes. However, they want the authorities to refrain from arresting and harassing innocent people on the pretext of the operation.
Also, they made it clear that, once the authorities complete their operation in Pashtun and Baloch- dominated areas of the city, they must also move into areas where there are known torture cells and criminal dens.
As for Mirza’s remarks about Interior Minister Rehman Malik, the ANP feels that the proper forum for such remarks is the parliament. They urged the judiciary, parliament and security agencies to summon Dr Zulfiqar Mirza and to obtain the evidence that he claims to have, and that any conclusive findings should be made public.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 30th, 2011.
COMMENTS (6)
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@Ayesha: Every party has a responsibility to answer in good faith, and not by demagoguery, all the charges levelled against them. And these are serious charges by someone who is raising them under the oath of Quran, which we all revere and have faith in. Though Dr. Mirza has solidified his reputation as a loud mouth and a loose cannon the fact remains that he has been in extremely important and sensitive positions and MQM has a responsibility to the general population to offer their clarification and views. That is how a democracy functions, if we want to live in one. In addition, MQM has been recently trying to raise their profile by claiming to represent people from Punjab, Azad Kashmir, and other regions of the country. They will not be able to make a slight dent and gain any confidence from other segments of the population if they do not respond to these serious charges. By the way people should not consider MQMs support as monolithic, meaning that not all Mohajirs or Urdu speakers support MQM. And not all supporters of MQM are Urdu speakers. People are stuck on this point and this does not serve our Federation well and helps in further dividing us.
In addition to the above comments, a point to note is that there should be a differentiation between those Pakhtuns that are settled in Karachi with their families from generations and those who are here as transient labors. The resident Pakhtuns have a stake in Karachi's well-being or misfortune whereas the transient labor population, which is the overwhelming majority of Pakhtuns including the Afghans, is being used by ANP to stake a claim on leadership in Karachi's affairs. It won't go too far because these transient labor population is oppressed enough by their circumstances and too encumbered to earn a day's living to support their families and does not have the time to support ethnic political parties. They are just unintended victims of political violence who are being used as pawns by ethnic leaders of their communities.
@Ayesha: Country was never together to break anyway. If ZM is so honest he should place all the facts in front of the SC and then demand a response. I havent forgotten 1992 operation and all the Jinnahpur crap that was churned by the media then also. Can you prove all killing were done by MQM. Dont forget the same drama was conducted in East Pakistan and then we all know what happened.
We are split on linguistic, ethnic, religion, sect and all possible ways. The people who are demanding questions are plundering their own provinces and demanding questions here.
Look beyond what is presented..... It will not be MQM that will break this country it is these people who are saying it is breaking who will do so. ZM was the first person who said Pakistan Nakhappay and not MQM and today he is acting as a saviour.
@Siraj Ahsan: Why MQM should not answer question raised by Mirza. Do they have licence to kill people and to break country. Its time to say truth
Same can be said for ANP... If I level charges will Asfandyar Wali answer charges? MQM should not clarify anything