Friends no more?: ‘MQM workers against coalition with PPP’
Rabita Committee member says final decision will be taken by Altaf Hussain.
Referendum: 78% of MQM voters are not in favour of the. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
Over a fortnight after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) held a referendum to seek the opinion of its workers on whether or not to join the Sindh government, a party leader broke the silence on Saturday and said that the majority of the people had voted against the decision.
Though the party has yet to announce the results officially, the leader, who requested anonymity, said that 78 per cent of the voters were not in favour of a coalition with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led provincial government. The final decision, however, would be taken by MQM chief Altaf Hussain after consultation with the Rabita Committee and other workers, he added. On June 20, the MQM had held a public referendum on the directives of Altaf Hussain following a visit by PPP leader and former interior minister Rehman Malik to Nine Zero to formally invite the MQM to be a part of the provincial government.
The announcement of the referendum’s decision was, however, postponed since the party was dealing with the murder of its MPA Sajid Qureshi and his son in North Nazimabad. Later, tensions arose as Scotland Yard conducted a raid on the MQM chief’s house in London over his suspected involvement in Dr Imran Farooq’s murder case and confiscated funds. The leader maintained that the workers were not in favour of joining the PPP as the party was not able to do much for its people while it was in the government. He complained that the Peoples Amn Committee - backed by the PPP - had irked the activists and office-bearers of the MQM.
A member of the Rabita Committee, Haider Abbas Rizvi, said that they would announce their decision on whether or not they are with the government quite soon. The MQM had reservations on a number of issues and the disputes were still unresolved, he added. “The fact that the PPP is patronising criminals in Lyari and enforcing the 1979 local government system is regrettable.” On the other hand, the Sindh government is waiting for MQM’s decision with bated breath as Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has yet to allot ministries, such as health, youth affairs, information technology, sports, environment and alternate energy, and others, which were held by the MQM in the last government.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 7th, 2013.
Over a fortnight after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) held a referendum to seek the opinion of its workers on whether or not to join the Sindh government, a party leader broke the silence on Saturday and said that the majority of the people had voted against the decision.
Though the party has yet to announce the results officially, the leader, who requested anonymity, said that 78 per cent of the voters were not in favour of a coalition with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led provincial government. The final decision, however, would be taken by MQM chief Altaf Hussain after consultation with the Rabita Committee and other workers, he added. On June 20, the MQM had held a public referendum on the directives of Altaf Hussain following a visit by PPP leader and former interior minister Rehman Malik to Nine Zero to formally invite the MQM to be a part of the provincial government.
The announcement of the referendum’s decision was, however, postponed since the party was dealing with the murder of its MPA Sajid Qureshi and his son in North Nazimabad. Later, tensions arose as Scotland Yard conducted a raid on the MQM chief’s house in London over his suspected involvement in Dr Imran Farooq’s murder case and confiscated funds. The leader maintained that the workers were not in favour of joining the PPP as the party was not able to do much for its people while it was in the government. He complained that the Peoples Amn Committee - backed by the PPP - had irked the activists and office-bearers of the MQM.
A member of the Rabita Committee, Haider Abbas Rizvi, said that they would announce their decision on whether or not they are with the government quite soon. The MQM had reservations on a number of issues and the disputes were still unresolved, he added. “The fact that the PPP is patronising criminals in Lyari and enforcing the 1979 local government system is regrettable.” On the other hand, the Sindh government is waiting for MQM’s decision with bated breath as Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has yet to allot ministries, such as health, youth affairs, information technology, sports, environment and alternate energy, and others, which were held by the MQM in the last government.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 7th, 2013.