Pakistan

US, UK never contacted MQM: Babar Ghauri

Federal minister says MQM had never taken decisions under any pressure.

December 06, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Ghauri, while rejecting a statement of Interior Minister Rehman Malik, has made it clear that the US and Britain had never contacted the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) over the defunct National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

Speaking to the media in the federal capital, Ghauri said that the MQM had never taken decisions under any pressure. And that the party was taking decisions according to the aspirations of people.

He clarified that no MQM leader had ever told Malik that the US and Britain were preventing the MQM from supporting the NRO. Ghauri said that he did not know how the interior minister told it to the former US ambassador. He added that they would seek an explanation from Malik.

Ghauri categoricallysaid that neither Altaf Hussian had ever contacted any official in the country, nor army or intelligence agencies were in contact with him. He said the MQM is a people’s party.

According to WikiLeaks, former US ambassador Anne Patterson in a diplomatic cable wrote that Interior Minister Rehman Malik met her to give details of his talks with MQM in Dubai. The MQM leaders told him that the US pressured the party to withdraw support for NRO during Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad’s visit to the US while MQM chief was similarly put under pressure by the British government, wrote Patterson.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2010.

COMMENTS (2)

Dr.Razi uddin Khan | 13 years ago | Reply Whatever,the motives behind leakings viz a viz wikies..so many analysis,anticipations,assessments,behind the scenes conspiracies and speculations have come true and are now well documented.From where have they are generated....from horses mouth!!! One thing in all this"typhoon wiki"seems strange though.From almost all corners of the world,politicians and their cronies are put to shame ,and some or the other kind of embarrassment, but the strongest of American ally,Israel has been exempted,protected or pardoned!!!or seems to have come clean...why is that?is the creator of all this ,devastation,a Jew,or an American agent in reality,serving some of their ulterior motives. For citizens of third world countries,and that too,of Islamic states,it comes as big relief and an eye opener.May be ,it will prove to be a blessing in disguise!!!and the so called ruling class correct their own follies no sooner then later!!!!!!!!!!!

S. Ali Raza | 13 years ago | Reply Precisely! Sen. Rehman Malik has some explaining to do. He also blamed the Army, Saudi Arabia, and the PML-N playing a game to remove Zardari's govt.

Replying to X