- MQM MPA says they protested killing of dead party worker outside CM House for 10 hours but received no consolation from CM
- Sindh CM says MQM protest outside CM House was an ‘attack’, not demonstration
- MPs want roads cleared of dharnas through permanent ban
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) sparred over political involvement in local crimes and traded allegations before the MQM boycotted the session while chanting slogans such as “Zalmo Jawab Do, Khun Ka Hisab Do!”
Their brawl began when MQM MPA Khawaja Izharul Hassan raised the issue of the alleged extrajudicial killings of their activists in the port city. Taking strong notice of a comment about MQM by a senior police officer to foreign media, he said that the allegations against the MQM were wrong. He said the behaviour of the government shows that it was backing the killers and not the slain MQM men. He said that recently their activist Faraz Alam died in an extrajudicial killing. The party protested along with his dead body outside the CM House. Despite staying there for 10 hours, neither the CM, nor any other official, came out to contact or sympathise with them.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah rejected MQM’s claim and said that MQM had not staged a demo at the CM House, but ‘attacked’ and besieged it. He said that the operation in Karachi started only after all political parties agreed to it. He said the Karachi operation has shown positive results and the cases of targeted killings, kidnapping for ransom, and extortions, have reduced.
He asked whose government was responsible for the bloodbath that took place on May 12 in Karachi? He said that in the past many political activists have been murdered in Karachi, why has the MQM chosen this time to make noise over the issue?
On this the MQM members protested and raised slogans, but the Sindh CM responded by saying that they did not like what he was saying because it was their weak point. He said, “I contacted the governor and he said he would try to get the MQM men to leave the CM House in an hour. Then I sent Minister Sharjeel Memon, IGP Sindh and the commissioner, but the MQM men refused to talk with them.”
Shah further informed that his government would not allow anyone to create law and order issues. He said that he possessed a list of the name of terrorists, and it would be shared with the media after getting permission from the Interior Ministry.
PML-F lawmaker Mahtab Akbar Rashidi criticised both PPP and MQM and said that the people of Sindh have seen their drama many times. When their political needs suit them, they easily become friends and when their political needs do not require it, they become opponents. She said the government should summon the courage to call a criminal a criminal and a terrorist a terrorist without mincing words.
BAN ON DHARNAS:
Meanwhile, the House demanded that sit-in protests on roads and streets be banned, so that people can avoid facing problems due to blocked roads.
The House unanimously passed a private resolution from PPP lawmaker Khairunissa Mughar regarding the imposition of a ban on dharnas, which lead to public roads being blocked.
The mover said that people face many problems when busy roads are blocked by protestors for hours. Many emergency patients die due to these blocked roads; women, children and elderly people commuting or travelling face huge problems.
The speakers said that there should be strong lawmaking from the government’s side to end this culture of closing roads and main arteries in the name of a protest. Political and religious parties and media should also be urged to cooperate in this regard.