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Monday, June 17, 2013
PPP invites MQM to join Sindh govt
* Malik says both parties need to join hands to improve situation in KarachiKARACHI: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Sunday formally invited its former ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to join the Sindh government.
Former interior minister Rehman Malik, along with other PPP leaders, visited MQM’s headquarters Nine-Zero in Karachi. The MQM leaders informed Malik that the party’s Rabita Committee will discuss the issue and make a decision in accordance with their party workers’ suggestions. While speaking to the media during a joint press conference, Malik said that the MQM and PPP must join hands to improve the situation in Karachi and the rest of Sindh.
The former interior minister said that peaceful transition of power in the country became possible due to President Asif Ali Zardari and Altaf Hussain. “I invite MQM to join government to serve people of Sindh,” he said and added that Pakistan could not afford politics of confrontation. Malik dubbed the ongoing killing spree in Karachi as random killing and said the MQM workers were being killed on a daily basis. He said that the PPP-MQM alliance was needed to maintain peace in Karachi.
Speaking on the occasion, senior MQM leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that the meeting between the two sides took place in a pleasant atmosphere. He, however, added that any decision to join the Sindh government would be taken only after seeking opinion of the MQM workers and supporters. Siddiqui said that the MQM had conveyed its reservations to the PPP delegation during the meeting. Demanding an end to extra-judicial killing of MQM workers, he said that he had also discussed the issue of eight missing workers of the party.
Pir Mazharul Haq, who was also present at the meeting, said the PPP and MQM have scarified a lot for democracy and need to work together against violence and terrorism. He said the country needs reconciliation today more than ever. Meanwhile, MQM Rabita Committee Deputy Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said he has informed the PPP leaders about MQM’s concerns and would like to see them addressed by the Sindh government. He said no matter where the MQM sits in parliament, it will always work in favour of Pakistan. online
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk