Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday said his party is opposed to the division of Sindh and asked MQM chief Altaf Hussain to clarify his Friday’s speech.
Addressing a press conference at the party secretariat, Qureshi said it was strange that the MQM complained of not getting rights despite the fact that the party had been part and parcel of the federal and provincial governments for the last 22 years. He said even today Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad is MQM officeholder.
He said the speech of Altaf Hussain has given rise to different questions. He said the PTI was against division of Sindh and it would also not be acceptable to the people of the province. He said PTI Chairman Imran Khan in Umer Kot had opposed the division of Sindh. He said after Altaf Hussain’s speech, he spoke to Ayaz Palejo and conveyed him the PTI’s viewpoint. He said the Sindhi nationalist leader said they would welcome Imran Khan on their land.
He said the MQM had been opposing the division of Sindh and it was necessary that it would give a clarification for the sudden U-turn. He said demanding a new country for not getting rights raises a negative impression about the MQM.
Qureshi said sacrifices of Mohajirs during Pakistan movement could not be ignored and they could not be disloyal to the country. He expressed his concern over law and order situation in Karachi.
He said if there was any wrongdoings with the Urdu speaking people, the governor should resign.
The PTI leader asked Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to inform the people about the illness of former president Pervez Musharraf because silence of the government was giving rise to speculations that a deal has been reached for sending him abroad. He said there were speculations that the vehicle of Musharraf was diverted towards AFIC after permission from the Interior Ministry. He said they pray for the health of Musharraf but rulers and doctors of the hospital should also give their opinion.
He said open heart surgery facility was available in Pakistan as Dr Hasnat is available at Rawalpindi Cardiology Hospital. He said with the availability of medical facilities talks of sending Musharraf abroad gives the impression that there is something wrong.
He also demanded that reports about Rawalpindi tragedy and recent sectarian violence be made public.
To a question, Qureshi said that the opposition would attend the National Assembly session beginning on January 20 as the boycott over Nisar’s contentious speech was for the last session only.
Qureshi said ANP was doing politics on Kalabagh dam. He said the PTI is in favour of new water reservoirs but this is not possible without national consensus. He said progress on Kalabagh dam was not possible due to opposition by three provinces.
To another question, he said Fazlur Rehman and Samiul Haq were respectable personalities but the APC had authorised the government for talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and it could not get itself exonerated from this responsibility.
