“This step by the government is an embarrassment and unjust to the party,” said Sattar while talking to The Express Tribune. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
Disappointed in the federal government for taking back the invitation for the cabinet meeting to be held on Wednesday, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement has turned down Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s offer of a one-on-one meeting with the party’s parliamentarian Dr Farooq Sattar.
“This step by the government is an embarrassment and unjust to the party,” said Sattar while talking to The Express Tribune. “The party decided to refuse the one-on-one meeting because it was no alternative to the cabinet meeting where issues of law and order and terrorism are to be raised.”
According to him, the one-on-one meeting with the PM would have given him 15 to 20 minutes at most whereas in the cabinet meeting, he would have been able to explain Karachi’s situation and MQM’s viewpoint on terrorism in detail. “I was fully prepared and even made a PowerPoint presentation packed with figures and important comparisons [for the meeting] as the issues are serious to us.”
He clarified that he wasn’t against the participation of other parties in the cabinet. “Every party, including us, should have been given equal time to speak. We wanted to participate as we have the biggest mandate in Karachi.” In his opinion, the withdrawal of the invitation is due to the pressure on the federal government from other political parties.
Party’s support
MQM’s deputy convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui equated the move by the government to putting old wine in new bottles. “The party is not interested in having a photo session with the prime minister so we have declined the offer,” he said.
At a press conference held earlier at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday, Siddiqui, flanked by other members of the Rabita Committee, said that the prime minister was under pressure by other political parties who had no stake in Karachi and therefore, had cancelled Dr Farooq Sattar’s invitation. “We know that Nawaz Sharif is bowing down to pressure. I want to remind him that before the operation in 1990s, Karachi was a peaceful city. Had the prime minister fought pressure then, Karachi would have been a different city today.”
Though the party had reservations over its exclusion in the special cabinet meeting, MQM’s senior members - Haider Abbas Rizvi and Senator Babar Ghauri - attended the All Parties Conference on Tuesday.
According to Siddiqui, the city was on the brink of destruction while the Sindh government had failed to control the worsening law and order situation.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2013.
COMMENTS (1)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1725254039-0/Untitled-design-(24)1725254039-0-270x192.webp "citizens to receive passports within stipulated time mohsin naqvi")
MQM with a heavy mandate is tossed around with an invite and then being dis-invited. It is ludicrous that an undisputed public representative party and the real stake holder of over 3 decades is not taken seriously by the PM. This is the level of disinterest and disregard to the will of the people of Karachi that has brought the city to this point. There is no sincerity by those at the helm of affairs for the good of the people of Karachi.