The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is preparing the right pitch to take wickets in Sindh, the party’s vice chairman, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Monday.
He was speaking at a reception held in his honour by Sindh United Party (SUP) chief Jalal Mehmood Shah at the latter’s residence, Haider Manzil.
Before talking to the media, Qureshi and Shah held a meeting, during which the PTI vice chairman formally invited the SUP leader to form an alliance with his party.
Shah assured Qureshi that he would discuss the issue in the meeting of his party’s Central Executive Committee and inform him about its decision.
After the meeting, Shah told the media that political ties change with the passage of time.
“Our point of view is that there is a need for making Pakistan a federation in the real sense. There should be good governance and corruption needs to be eliminated. The PTI is also thinking on same lines,” he added.
On the occasion, Qureshi said Pakistan was found by his and the SUP chief’s elders. However, the leadership that followed lacked sincerity and that is why a part of the country was lost in 1971.
“My ties with Sindh are very old and I cannot ignore the interests of the province. I also belong to the part of Punjab that is struggling for its rights. We need to struggle for a new Pakistan,” he added.
Replying to a question, Qureshi said the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is a reality that is present in both federal and provincial assemblies.
“My party accepts its [MQM’s] presence and position. We want close relations with the MQM too,” he added.
The PTI vice chairman announced that his party would form an independent commission to review issues about nationalities, geographical, demographical, cultural, social and economical issues. The commission would prepare a formula to resolve these issues.
Following the PTI’s rally in Karachi, Qureshi has stepped up contacts with Sindh’s nationalists, the MQM and other political parties.
The party wants to take away any advantage that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has in Sindh and also surface as a strong opposition for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the province.
Qureshi also held a meeting with former provincial minister Maqbool Shaikh at the latter’s residence. The meeting was also attended by other anti-PPP politicians Irfan Gul Magsi and Saleem Jan Mazari. Qureshi invited them to join the PTI. According to sources, these anti-PPP politicians spoke with Saad Rafiq of the PML-N before talking with Qureshi.
Saad told them that he will talk to his party chief, Nawaz Sharif, and soon inform them whether the PML-N would take them on board or not.
The sources said that if they do not receive a positive response from the PML-N, they would join the PTI.