Policy change: Ex-diplomat joins MQM

'Altaf Hussain is the only leader who is following the ideology of ‘Realism and Practicalism’, says Sherzai.

KARACHI:

A former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Umer Khan Ali Sherzai, whose name once surfaced in the Hajj scam, joined the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Tuesday.

Sherzai, who is from Kurram Agency, said in a statement that he has “no hesitation in saying that the founder and leader of the MQM Mr Altaf Hussain is the only leader who is following the ideology of ‘Realism and Practicalism’ of his movement sincerely and staunchly. Mr Hussain can provide internal and external security for the country and raise the stature of the country at the international level. He can also open the avenues for progress and prosperity that can realise the dreams of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Shaheed-i-Millat Khan Liaquat Ali Khan and the poet of the east Allama Iqbal.”

Sherzai also noted that the MQM has emphasised a policy of reconciliation and Hussain has often spoken out against feudal culture in Pakistan. He said that his decision to join the MQM came from a study of the manifestos of various political parties.

Former religious affairs minister Hamid Kazmi, who was detained owing to his alleged involvement in a 2010 scam over Hajj arrangements, had asked the Chief Justice of Pakistan to summon Sherzai to assist the court on tracing the main beneficiaries of the embezzled money. The Express Tribune quoted Kazmi as saying last February that he “wrote to the prime minister and the president, requesting them to conduct an inquiry against Ali Sherzai in connection with the Hajj scam.”

According to a profile available on the ministry of foreign affairs’ website, Sherzai joined the Foreign Service in 1976 and has served in Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Doha, Riyadh, Kandahar and Mazar-i-Sharif.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2012.