KARACHI:
Two days after former Sindh senior minister Zulfiqar Mirza launched an extensive diatribe against them, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) decided to return the favour in kind, with a press conference where they used strong language to counter Mirza’s allegations and even went on to question the state of his mental health.
“The monstrous allegations made by Mirza about an alleged US plot to break up Pakistan with the MQM’s help is as laughable as it is grave,” said Faisal Subzwari, a member of the Sindh Assembly from Karachi, while addressing a press conference organised at Nine-Zero, the party’s headquarters.
Subzwari rubbished Mirza’s account of a meeting he allegedly had with MQM chief Altaf Hussain, where the party leader allegedly admitted to collaborating with the US government in a secret plan to break up Pakistan. He questioned nearly every detail, including why the MQM chief would grant Mirza a private audience by asking senior MQM leaders such as MNA Farooq Sattar and Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad to leave the room.
“This would mean that the people who had been working with Hussain for many years were not worthy of his trust, and those who were meeting with him for the first time were so reliable that he could hold highly confidential talks with them,” stated Subzwari. “This is nothing but slander and a white lie.”
Subzwari characterised Mirza’s outburst as being deliberately designed to divert attention from the Supreme Court’s hearings on the violence in Karachi. The apex court bench began hearings on its suo motu case in Karachi on Monday.
The MQM leader challenged Mirza to prove his allegations in court. The former senior minister volunteered to present evidence in court, though only if he was summoned.
Even as Subzwari issued an almost point-by-point refutation of every statement made by Mirza against the MQM, he said that the party respects President Asif Ali Zardari and the electoral mandate of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, of which Mirza is still a member. Subwari described Mirza as an ‘extremist’.
At one point, Subzwari described the MQM as the party of people “who left their homes, belongings and memories of their ancestors for their cherished homeland,” implying that the MQM was a party of ethnic muhajirs.
In other instances, however, particularly when refuting Mirza’s allegations of the MQM being in favour of the killing of people from other ethnicities, Subzwari pointed to the MQM’s ethnic diversity. He pointed specifically to Gulfaraz Khan Khattak, a Pakhtun, who is a member of the party’s central coordination committee. On Sunday, Mirza has accused the MQM of being complicit in the killings of Pakhtuns in Karachi.
The MQM leader also appealed to his party’s supporters and sympathisers for calm, asking them not to respond violently to what he described as ‘inflammatory and absurd allegations’. The appeal for calm, also made by the party’s governing body on Sunday, seems to have been working: contrary to public expectation, Mirza’s outburst was not met with a violent reaction across the country’s financial capital.
(Read: MQM hits back at Mirza)
Subzwari also levelled several counter-allegations against Mirza, blaming him for trying to create disputes between Karachi’s muhajir and Baloch populations.
“There was never any dispute between muhajirs and the Baloch in Karachi before Zulfiqar Mirza became Sindh home minister,” said the MQM leader.
The party leader also blamed Mirza for the extortion-related violence in Karachi, including the massacre at the Sher Shah scrap market.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 31st, 2011.
COMMENTS (80)
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if he has resigned from his post, so wat his value now?being a common citizen, no one could arrange press conference like this unless he/she got any back...
@Abdulaziz: It's not a journalist's responsibility to search and verify every thing a leader is having with him during a press conference nor he is responsible to testify all the evidences there, as that place is not supposed to be a court.They are neutral people. journalists just convey us the messages and cover the reports. And yes a journalist can also bring down a leader from his office if he breached the nation but not fighting in a wrestler's ring but in the court..MQM never responses other's allegations in a swindling and mocking way. If every leader starts bringing out Quran from home on street and put them on head alleging others that would not be appropriate there are many places and the best is the court. Karachi is not being looted by MQM leaders .Karachi is their own city and they are natural citizen of Karachi, Karachi is being looted by those who come to Karachi considering it "DUBAI". .
@Chester: MQM never ever objected against any nation may it be Pathans or others to enter Karachi, they were cautioning government against dangerous people in the garb of innocent Pathans, like Taliban and other criminals.Instead MQM along with others sent reliefs to them in their areas you should not forget that .Had you ever heard about , anti aircraft guns, and deadly launchers in Karachi sometimes before, so these are the gifts we have been presented and by whom? Listen chester your and our lives are at stake now. as soon as we get rid of them it would be better for us.
@kamran: Oh where were these "CIVILIZED PPL" while responding to PML(N)?????
Despite the fact that i really appreciate the style and approach of Subzswari but the press conference was far away from answering the allegations that Mirza put on them.. Faisal was only beating about the bush and nothing else.. And MQM needs to understand one thing here, if someone has accused you of some wrongdoing then you try to come up with rational and logical arguements, proofs and evidence that you are clean.. The only thing that MQM did was to throw dirt on Mirza giving a silent message that "Yes we are terrorists but Mirza is a bigger terrorist so support us".. Two wrongs do not make a right..
If this country is actually serious in believing a man who held the quran in front of him and claimed Zardari was a brave (debatable) and an HONEST man, God help this country! Perhaps the gullibility of the people to such buffoons is responsible for the mess we are in today. Perhaps some of these allegations might be true and all those INDIVIDUALS involved should be punished, but MQM is the true representative of the people of Karachi and to put it in Mirza's terms 'kisi ke baap bhi iss ka mandate nahi hila sake'.
Giddu Bandar would be the next venue for his Press conference.
@Realist.: This isn't a Drama or a Talk Show where one party makes allegations over another and that other has to respond with effective jibe. If he is so evident with the proofs that MQM is behind all the killings then what he is waiting for? go to Supreme Court and submit the case.
This guy is doing his utmost in destabilizing the already fragile structure of the country. the terrorist using guns to fire while ZM is using his mouth as his ultimate and most favorable weapon.
@sashayub: "The MQM leader challenged Mirza to prove his allegations in court. The former senior minister volunteered to present evidence in court, though only if he was summoned."
What do you understand from this?
If Mirza's allegation have any truth then President Zardari must summon US ambassador for explanation. it is more important then MQM and PPP.
@My Name is Khan:
see the conference again. He has documentary proofs
Instead of replying the allegations ZM has leveled against them, MQM is on the path of counter-allegations. Thereby proving that they no better then ZM if not worse.
I am not a fan of PPP or MQM so from an outsider looking in, Mirza needs to back up his accusations.
Zulfiqar Mirza holding the Koran doesn't make sense. He was dead drunk when he made the speech about Mohajirs being nangey bhukey. If he has no issues with drinking, something that's forbidden in Islam, then he automatically steps outside of the folds of Islam. If he's not in the folds of Islam, then the Koran is just another book to him, place it on his head or elsewhere, it's just a bunch of pages that weigh a bit.
@Ikramuddin Akbar: If Doctor ZM was not holding Quran, he had dictionary, why your journalists did not asked that question. He verbally said that by God all statements are true and he gave the proofs to the media. Why your leader is not giving their statement on actual Quran in front of people. They are not clean, there is something wrong, the best proof is that they want to be in every government to loot the innocent people of Karachi.
@kasim.lahore: At least i don't have any doubt ..
@Amjad: The repercussions of Mirza's thinkings can be easily visualized , RAW has ao easy access to them as ISI has to Kashmiris ,India also has good relation with Baloch and Kabul , Plz. Think twice before saying some thing .,..,.?
Pashtuns support Zulfiqar Mirza in his truth compaign. Pashtuns knows its friends and it will never ever believe in what MQM says. Tony Blair was considered as poodle of Bush, but we didnot know that a stray dog was eying the poodle and has offered its services .
@Amjad
sons and daughters of the soil!! Huh
Genral A K Niazi who surrendered in front of Indian armed forces with 90,000 Pakistani PoW was also a Son of the Soil.
Zulfiqar Mirza:1 MQM:0
@Adeel759: Well said, you have to see the true nature of the MQM spokesperson. He is hiding the obvious from the people of Pakistan and trying to trick us along with some biased people in the media. Watch how they try to portray the MQM spoesman favorably in GEO news but how they replay one aggressive section of Mirza's speech. They are trying to turn public opinion against Mirza but the people can't be fooled by their clever antics. We want the allegations refuted in the courts only!
@Salman: because its the other way around ...... rest of the parties are owned by Waderas,chouhderies , khan babas and capitalists........what a worthless justification u have brought up ...its just like saying as all the world is against ISLAM so it makes ISLAM wrong?????huhhhh
Still any one having doubt about mental health of Mirza Saheb? I don't have any doubt.
The burden of proof lies with the person who lays the charges---for those of you who don't know, that is how the law works. It is not MQM's responsibility to disprove these accusations, instead it is ZM's responsibility to take MQM to court and prove his accusations in court. And for everyone that recommended MQM officials swearing on a Quran: get a life. Swearing on the Quran doesn't mean a thing!
@Fahad siddiqui: Meaning that MQM has shown that they are lacking in giving an honest response to the charges. At least Mirza has the guts to speak the truth. That's why sons and daughters of the soil appreciate his comments for Sind and Pakistan.
First of all we need to know who this Mirza is? Was he a man from a court and was that a place where he was uttering something against his most envied people, a court and why does he know every thing about MQM, good or bad? and nobody else better than him, in this province and in this country. The fact is that Mirza is not alone of course bigoted to the core people are at his back. Those will be exposed and come into limelight soon.Now simply putting Quran on head does not necessarily mean that a man is innocent and telling the truth, something is beyond that, who knows, was that book a Quran? or a dictionary or a telephone directory any way it might be Quran, but Mirza did address to the majority of his own 75 percent illiterate mass and particular people who in sind wed women to Quran and their knowledge about Islam and Quran is only limited to the fact that when you give reference of Quran you are a pious and true Muslim so Mirza is waiting for the result of his speech. well educated Sindhis, Balochis, Punjabis and others know well what sordid intentions were brewing in his mind, and what he wanted in actual. so in our Urdu there is a saying" in tilon main tail nahi" .I am astonished why the rebellious leaders of Balochistan who are fighting and killing Pak army could not be put into traitos of Pakistan category. Why The respected father of Mr. Zardari had not been put before a court when he let lose foul remarks against the father of the nation. there are a lot of leaders Mirza is aware of ,but sorry they are patriot people because they are Mirza's people, what a shame.I feel satisfied when i think Mirza is not the whole Sind and Mirza does not represent the whole Pakistan and one man's personal uttering will not harm Pakistan and disturb peace loving Punjabis, sindhis , Mohajirs and others liliving in Pakistan .People like Mirza is itself a threat for Pakistan and Peopl's Party. People's Party will be safe as soon as it get rid of him. There are a lot of political swindlers in Pakistan so what if we saw one of them.
If a person lies calmly will u call it a truth?? MQM has still a lot to prove.. Anyone who wants to break Pakistan & divide Pakistanis on ethnic bases is not acceptable for me or any other person in Pakistan...Pakistan will stay forever & InshaALLAH all the traitors will b exposed In the end a Pro-Pakistani Zindabad...Pakistan Paindabad!!
Perfect response by MQM in the shape of Faisal Sabzwari. It was elegant, composed and a precise response. Go to the courts to register the cases; we are going to come to the courts and prove you and your lies wrong. Simple isn't it? Although it is very ironic to know the fellow Pakistanis who are believing and giving so much importance to the words of a guy who himself openly denounced Pakistan, and was planning to split it post-BB murder. Really, we guys don't deserve to progress..
dr.zulfiqar mirza s elegations are very powerful and a copy of letter of altaf sb.is also available and inquery of imran farooq s murdered is also in critical phase.in these circumstances the press confrence of sabzwari is not convienceable.need more explatation.
Very mature behaviour by Faisal Sabzwari and MQM. Its not the era of PTV anymore, Karachiites know who is the real enemy of Karachi. The way MQM replied, It proves that they refuse to be blackmailed by Zulfiqar Mirza and people like him in the name of ethnicity and race. Once again, May peace prevail in Karachi and whole Sindh.
I am sorry but despite of all such beautiful Laffazi by this guy, he still couldnt prove Altaf innocent so MQM. MQM would have to refute the DOCUMENTS, yes DOCUMENTS provided by Mirza which also consist of intercepted calls.
No one will belive MQM now - Come clean first
Of the 400 people killed over the past 2 months, the vast majority have been Urdu speaking. Though I dislike MQM and its politics, I am glad they raise their voice for them
@ Salman
Scotland Yard has denied any cooperation with Pakistani agencies in this investigation and that they are still looking for 2 killers
http://e.jang.com.pk/08-28-2011/Karachi/pic.asp?picname=2238.gif
lol MQM leaders clearly hiding their faces after Dr Imran Khan case investigation.Have you seen them lately not coming on the media like they always do ? :D They feared about the questions regarding Imran Farooq more then the ZM accusations. ZM never had any problems with MQM before he was made Sind's interior minister, obviously he couldn't stand MQM atrocities just like every other parties. Why is that every party has problem with MQM and not with much others ? be it Imran Khan, PPP, PMLN, ANP, Jamatis,Sindhi nationalists etc.
MQM response can be termed as NO RESPONSE IS ALSO A RESPONSE. The only thing which is not understood is that why MQM is not trying to uncover the truth of Benazir's Murder, which they know better. Their quiteness against AZ corruption cases is also creating doubts. When asked from Zulfiqar Mirza abt Shaheed Rani, he also did not replied. He may be asked again by making him place his hand on Quran that he dont know or else. Thanks to MQM that this time they had acted maturely by not calling a strike, which in turn kill more people.
Wow, what a divided people. Just read each others' comments and you can see that one is saying 'it is white' and the other is saying 'it is black.' There is no gray, there is no in between. There is no forum for educated and sensible people to sit together and deliberate and hash it out to see what makes sense and what does not. If there is so much hatred among all of you, based on language and ethnicities, then why do you not lead movements to separate???? And live peacefully in your own domains??? That is what civilized people do. Look into Czechoslovakia becoming Czech Republic and Slovakia a few years ago and while you are at it check into how Singapore separated from Malaya. However, I must add that the world is moving towards unity and cooperation rather than separations. Look how all the countries in EU are living peacefully with each other. Maybe you will learn a little. Though I am not holding my breath.
Hmm ZM raised a serious allegation regarding altaf hussains letter to Tony Blair about disbanding ISI, Faisal had nothing to say in defense. He did not even deny it. Also when the journalist mentioned the killer "policewala" he spoke against JIT.
If pathans are really "brothers" then why did MQM object their movement into Karachi during the Swat Operation? Do they need a visa to enter Jinnahpur?
MQM has no credibility.
people of this/my country need education and employment and decent life.we are fail in this case.why? because our rulers fought wars outside the boarder and we inside.is not strange?now what is to be done is to divert our fund to improve quality of life not to fight.four wars are more than sufficient.
No body seems to be giving importance to check if the book supposedly a copy of holy qoran that qulfiqar mirza held on his head was indeed the holy qoran. zulfiqar mirza should have opened the book and showed his pages to the media only then what he alleged against MQM would carry weight. ZM has told about himself more than once that he is a great 'badmaash'. So you can expect any trickery from such a person.
clearly They don't have any adequate answers! :D MQM is in confusion how to respond :D
@Maulana Diesel: Prove it... it was done by MQM and not by ANP and PPP.
@Taqi: Go to court
@Ovais: Well anees speaks the language ZM understands.... they should have unleashed him,
@Izhar ul Haq: Explain how... to me it looks like the end game for Pakistan....
@Abdulaziz: Because if ZM really wanted justice he would take this to SC... which is not going to so why should MQM respond to allegations without a solid proof... let the venom spew... he started and then went on record of calling Urdu speaking Bhookay Nungay.... If you would come to know how honest this person is you will not support him the way you are doing right now.
Let us hope the best. Supreme Court will expose everyone InshaAllah...
Civility Wins Those who have real stakes in Karachi, who want to let Karachites enjoy on Eid have proven their intentions by their act. A calm balanced and very composed response by MQM. I am impressed!
That was the next eposide of our political drama. Keep watching!
@sashayub: It is upto Zulfiqar Mirza to go to court. HE was the home minister. Why did he not prosecute criminals and take the m to court
No. In the court we cant enjoy the drama. Therefore, he should stick to public theater.
If MQM is right and all blames are wrong and baseless, why they don't make a conference holding Quran in their hands or challenge Mrza in the Court. Seems MQM is 100% wrong and betraying the people and killing the innocensts.
@sashayub: We can ask the same question to Zulfiqar Mirza. Further, it is MQM that became party to the SC's investigation and not the other way around.
What proof? How about the tortured bodies found in gunny bags in the streets of karachi? Isn't that proof enough for you? The planned killing of Wali Babar?
It is not going to be business as usual after Mirza spilled the beans.
I don't support everything MQM does, but this time they are 100% right. ZM can't just make such statements and not provide the evidence to the correct authorities. If he had so much evidence against MQM for so long, why didn't he present it earlier? He is just trying to score political points. All he has ever done is create tensions and ignite violence. His time is up and I am glad that the PPP leadership is distancing itself from him.
MQM brings its best face forward. if it had been anees it would have been interesting.
just saw the press conference and want to say just one line...... tahzzeb o tarbiyat bata dyti hia kon insan hia or kon hawan