Clearing the air: Fazl to visit MQM headquarters over resignations

KARACHI:

After his initial reluctance Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has finally agreed to meet Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leaders at their party headquarters on Tuesday. Fazl arrived in Karachi a day earlier in a bid to woo the MQM representatives into taking back their resignations.

The MQM is expected to hand over to Maulana Fazl a list of missing party workers as well as those who had become victims of extrajudicial killings during the operation. Affected families of its workers would also be meeting him.

The JUI-F chief was appointed as an interlocutor between the government and the Karachi-based party after the MQM lawmakers had resigned from both the lower and upper houses of parliament as well as Sindh Assembly last week, citing reservations over the ongoing Rangers’ operation in the metropolis.

The JUI-F leader was expected to hold talks with the MQM on Monday, but the two sides failed to forge consensus on the venue and time for the meeting.

Upon his arrival, Maulana Fazl spoke to the media and said that he had come to Karachi, because he is hopeful that there would be a breakthrough in the dialogue. “I had spoken to Altaf Hussain and he told me that he was not against the targeted operation but said that it should be held with honesty.”

The JUI-F chief said that people have expressed satisfaction over the operation and are feeling safe and secure. “No political party should feel that it [operation] is being conducted against them,” he added.

According to the MQM, the JUI-F chief has agreed to meet the Rabita Committee at the party headquarters, Nine-Zero.

According to some reports, the JUI-F chief was reluctant to go to the party’s headquarters for negotiations and was insisting on meeting at a neutral place – preferably the government’s guest house. On the other hand, the MQM insisted that he should come to Nine-Zero.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2015.