Altaf Hussain says non-Muslims should not be referred to as ‘minorities’
MQM chief wants Pakistanis to live together in harmony and work towards development.
KARACHI:
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder and chief, Altaf Hussain, underscored on the importance of interfaith harmony at a meeting with members of the MQM’s Coordination Committee and ministers at the party’s London secretariat.
In a statement issued by the MQM, Altaf Hussain said that the party has always strived for the stability of democracy, political and interfaith harmony and social development. It believes in the principle of “live and let live” and considers all the people living in Pakistan belonging to various religions as equal citizens of Pakistan.
MQM leaders attending the meeting included the Sindh governor, Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri and provincial ministers Raza Haroon, Shoaib Bukhari, Dr Sagheer Ahmed and Adil Siddiqui.
Hussain said that the party has always spread the message of respecting all religions and faiths and their places of worship. He also said that the party does not want the term ‘minority’ to be used for non-Muslims and they should be considered as equal Pakistanis and given the same opportunities.
At the meeting, the Sindh governor briefed Altaf Hussain about his visit to the UK with a delegation of government representatives. The outcome of the visit includes agreements signed with a number Scottish companies for investing in Sindh, memorandums of understanding for desalinating seawater to provide 100 MGD to Karachi, solid waste management and generating electricity from the waste, improvement in the sewerage system and providing 50 ambulances to the health department. A memorandum of understanding has also been signed for providing training to the graduates of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology and NED University of Engineering and Technology at the University of Strathclyde Glasgow.
The delegation also met with the head of the Conservative Party Baroness Saeeda Warsi as well as with officials of the Church of Scotland.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2012.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder and chief, Altaf Hussain, underscored on the importance of interfaith harmony at a meeting with members of the MQM’s Coordination Committee and ministers at the party’s London secretariat.
In a statement issued by the MQM, Altaf Hussain said that the party has always strived for the stability of democracy, political and interfaith harmony and social development. It believes in the principle of “live and let live” and considers all the people living in Pakistan belonging to various religions as equal citizens of Pakistan.
MQM leaders attending the meeting included the Sindh governor, Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri and provincial ministers Raza Haroon, Shoaib Bukhari, Dr Sagheer Ahmed and Adil Siddiqui.
Hussain said that the party has always spread the message of respecting all religions and faiths and their places of worship. He also said that the party does not want the term ‘minority’ to be used for non-Muslims and they should be considered as equal Pakistanis and given the same opportunities.
At the meeting, the Sindh governor briefed Altaf Hussain about his visit to the UK with a delegation of government representatives. The outcome of the visit includes agreements signed with a number Scottish companies for investing in Sindh, memorandums of understanding for desalinating seawater to provide 100 MGD to Karachi, solid waste management and generating electricity from the waste, improvement in the sewerage system and providing 50 ambulances to the health department. A memorandum of understanding has also been signed for providing training to the graduates of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology and NED University of Engineering and Technology at the University of Strathclyde Glasgow.
The delegation also met with the head of the Conservative Party Baroness Saeeda Warsi as well as with officials of the Church of Scotland.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2012.