Reactions: Govt hails, opposition criticises MQM decision
Information minister advises Dr Qadri to cancel rally.
The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) appeared to be the only party to laud MQM’s decision. PHOTO: MQM/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) ‘about face’ on Tahirul Qadri’s long march has been met with jeers from both opposition and coalition parties.
The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) appeared to be the only party to laud MQM’s decision; all others unanimously believed its earlier support for Minhajul Quran International’s (MQI) march was nothing more than a ‘gimmick’ to place pressure on the ruling party to fulfil some of its demands.
“I deem it blackmailing,” said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) General Secretary Mushahidullah Khan while talking to The Express Tribune.
“MQM has a history of backtracking… the announcement to participate in Qadri’s march was simply a stunt to get the PPP to meet their demands,” he added. Mushahid termed it unfortunate that the ruling party allowed itself to be held ‘hostage’ at the MQM’s hands.
Soon after the MQM Deputy Convener Farooq Sattar’s conference, Interior Minister Rehman Malik thanked MQM for pulling out of the long march. Terming the MQM’s decision ‘wise’, he advised Qadri to simply cancel the march as well.
Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, too, hoped the MQI chief would pay heed to PPP and MQM’s advice.
“Everybody has the right to protest and assemble‚ however‚ nobody would be allowed to disrupt public life. It is the responsibility of the government to protect the lives and property of the citizens,” he maintained.
Other critics of MQM’s announcement made the same observations as PML-N and ANP. They observed the party had adopted such a strategy several times in the past, adding that it could have used the threat of joining the march to obtain certain guarantees and concessions regarding issues such as the delimitation of constituencies and voter verification in Karachi, the Sindh local bodies system and the dual nationality bill.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2013.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) ‘about face’ on Tahirul Qadri’s long march has been met with jeers from both opposition and coalition parties.
The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) appeared to be the only party to laud MQM’s decision; all others unanimously believed its earlier support for Minhajul Quran International’s (MQI) march was nothing more than a ‘gimmick’ to place pressure on the ruling party to fulfil some of its demands.
“I deem it blackmailing,” said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) General Secretary Mushahidullah Khan while talking to The Express Tribune.
“MQM has a history of backtracking… the announcement to participate in Qadri’s march was simply a stunt to get the PPP to meet their demands,” he added. Mushahid termed it unfortunate that the ruling party allowed itself to be held ‘hostage’ at the MQM’s hands.
Soon after the MQM Deputy Convener Farooq Sattar’s conference, Interior Minister Rehman Malik thanked MQM for pulling out of the long march. Terming the MQM’s decision ‘wise’, he advised Qadri to simply cancel the march as well.
Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, too, hoped the MQI chief would pay heed to PPP and MQM’s advice.
“Everybody has the right to protest and assemble‚ however‚ nobody would be allowed to disrupt public life. It is the responsibility of the government to protect the lives and property of the citizens,” he maintained.
Other critics of MQM’s announcement made the same observations as PML-N and ANP. They observed the party had adopted such a strategy several times in the past, adding that it could have used the threat of joining the march to obtain certain guarantees and concessions regarding issues such as the delimitation of constituencies and voter verification in Karachi, the Sindh local bodies system and the dual nationality bill.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2013.