Zardari succeeds in calming MQM chagrin

As former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza once again ignited a situation that brought the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s relations with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to the brink, President Asif Ali Zardari, who is also co-chairman of the PPP, assured his coalition partners on Thursday that their cooperation would continue for the welfare of the people of Sindh, the country and the democratic process.
Zardari sought to placate the MQM in a meeting with a delegation of the party comprising Overseas Pakistanis Minister Dr Farooq Sattar, Ports and Shipping Minister Babar Khan Ghauri and Haider Abbas Rizvi, who called on him to express their concern over Dr Mirza’s latest tirade against the MQM,.
What disturbed the MQM was that Dr Mirza had been given official protocol when he left for London on Wednesday to make potentially explosive disclosures about MQM chief Altaf Hussain. Mirza also visited the British House of Lords to brief them on his allegations against Hussain.
Though Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon also travelled on the same flight as Mirza, he dissociated himself from the former home minister’s visit and returned to Pakistan within 24 hours. His sojourn had created unrest among the PPP top brass and it was learnt that the president had summoned him to Islamabad for an explanation.
Briefing reporters on the meeting, Presidential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that speaking on behalf of the delegation, Dr Sattar conveyed to the president the concerns of the MQM about the statements and actions against their party by some elements associated with the PPP. The president assured the MQM delegation that the PPP valued its partnership with the MQM for the welfare of the people of Sindh, the country and for the cause of democracy and that the two allies’ partnership would continue in the future as well.
The president said Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah had also addressed a press conference this morning spelling out the party’s policy and, as president of PPP Sindh, had also taken disciplinary action in this regard against some party members.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rehman Malik also stood up in support of MQM chief Altaf Hussain saying the PPP was with him and any uncivilised remarks against him would not be tolerated.
Talking to reporters outside Parliament House, he said Hussain was a democracy-loving person, adding that any negative remarks against him would not be tolerated. “There is no room for uncivilised norms in politics and the politicians should respect one another,” he said.
Commenting on the recent suicide blast in Karachi, Malik said two suicide attackers had been identified and one belonged to Punjab while the other was from southern Sindh. He said the brother of one of the attackers, who was a police sub-inspector, had been arrested. He stopped short of naming the organisation behind the attack, however, saying he would disclose it at the appropriate time. He also announced Sitara-e-Shujaat for the two policemen killed in the Karachi suicide blast.