No words barred
Zulfiqar Mirza, the proverbial bull in a china shop, is no ordinary person. He is the long time confidant of President Zardari and has been senior vice president of the provincial PPP, home minister and, till Sunday, senior minister of Sindh. The concrete and highly serious and outrageous allegations he has levelled cannot be simply brushed aside as an outburst of an angry and frustrated man. He said that Altaf Hussain had told him that he was working with the US for the dismemberment of Pakistan. He has also said that Altaf had written to Tony Blair to seek the disbanding of the ISI. He has claimed the MQM had got twenty five killers released on parole since Musharraf. He also said that he had evidence that the organisation was behind the killing of journalist Wali Khan Babar. He accused Interior Minister Rehman Malik of protecting and aiding the release of alleged MQM terrorists. He has charged him of shifting the alleged MQM terrorists involved in the Chakra Goth killings and shooting police personnel to Islamabad to finally get them released. Mirza claims he can substantiate the charges with solid evidence including intelligence reports and recordings of killers’ confessions.
The MQM has to reply to the concrete and highly serious allegations he has leveled against Altaf and the ethnic outfit itself. Mirza’s press conference is equally damaging for the PPP. He has called the interior minister a habitual liar and a man who has nothing at stake in the country. He has also said he had apprised the party leadership of the facts concerning Altaf Hussain, MQM and Rehman Malik. The PPP cannot simply disown the allegations by saying these were made after Mirza had resigned from his party and government posts. Even though his basic party membership has now been revoked, his grave allegations cannot be simply dismissed. If Rehman Malik is really “the biggest enemy of Pakistan”, as maintained by Mirza, those who appointed and patronised him and proposed his name for the highest civil award have to share the blame.
Mirza has tried to drag the military into the equation by claiming that he has brought the charges to the notice of the ISI and army. He has also said he has all the evidence needed to prove the serious charges if called by the SC. It is for the apex court now to decide if there is a need to listen to him.