MQM quits parliament over ‘crackdown’

• As Sattar cries out discrimination against party, MQM chief says will take back resignations if concerns are addressed
• Legal requirements of MQM’s resignations incomplete as NA speaker has only ‘please process’ on applications

Citing reservations over the Rangers-led operation in Karachi, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) lawmakers simultaneously submitted their resignations in the National Assembly (NA), Senate and the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday.

After MQM lawmaker Farooq Sattar briefed the House on his party’s reservations and their decision to resign, the MQM lawmakers went to NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq’s chamber to submit their resignations. The NA speaker sat at his desk, surrounded by MQM lawmakers who submitted their resignations one by one.

Sadiq verified the resignations, but the decision to accept the resignations will take place after the arrival of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, sources said. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership is also in contact with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership, they added.

Later on, the MQM senators submitted their resignations to Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, who initially refused to accept them, asking the MQM lawmakers to submit the resignations in Senate Secretariat — which they later did.

Meanwhile, the party’s MPAs also submitted their resignations to Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani.

NOT QUITE LEGAL YET:

Soon after the development, the status of resignations was called into question, as according to sources, the legal requirements are not complete; which means they have not been approved yet.

Sources said that the NA speaker, after accepting individual resignations of all 23 MQM MNAs in his chamber, wrote the words “please process” on them.

Reports said that the legal team of the federal government has had a meeting with the NA speaker to review the constitutional and legal aspects as well as the regulations of the assembly with regards to the resignations.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Assembly speaker has also said that the resignations of MQM’s 51 MPAs cannot be approved immediately. He added that a legal team will review the resignations today (Thursday).

Furthermore, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari telephoned Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and asked him to ensure that MQM lawmakers’ resignations are not accepted till the PPP leadership decides on the issue. A meeting in this regard is expected soon.

Reinforcing the reports on resignations’ legality, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the NA speaker will delay the matter of approval to the extent which is in his power. He further said that MQM chief Altaf Hussain has said that if the federal government addresses the concerns of MQM then the party would be ready to take back the resignations. He added that the government therefore is trying to address the concerns of MQM.

MQM HAS RESERVATIONS:

While addressing a press conference outside Parliament House, MQM’s Farooq Sattar said, “It has been proved that the implementation of law is different for MQM than that for other parties. Even if the statements and speeches of Altaf Hussain are allegedly against the constitution, it does not give any state institution the leverage to carry out illegal and unlawful acts against MQM and its leaderships.”

While addressing the NA earlier Wednesday, Sattar said that many party workers over the past six months had been arrested by Rangers and other law enforcement agencies but had not been sent on judicial remand. The practice, he said, was against Article 10 of the Constitution.

The MQM leader said that there were hundreds of fake cases registered against the party chief and workers. “Take a 90-day remand as per the law if required. We have never protested against or objected to it,” he said.

He demanded an “unbiased operation” in Karachi, saying that the government had failed to set up a monitoring committee to check Rangers. “We have failed to get justice,” he said.

Sattar said the government was involved in a media trial of the MQM and is trying to “create space for someone” in the upcoming Local Government elections.

“A media trial against MQM is being facilitated by releasing stories and confessional statements to media. Who is giving all this stories to media? Under what law and on whose orders?” questioned the MQM lawmaker.

“If someone uses state aggression and tries to build a new political empire by suppressing the actual mandate of the public, it will create a violent backlash,” Sattar said.

He alleged that the government provides a safe exit to terrorists while the Rangers treat MQM workers like “prisoners of war”. He asked the speaker as to how the PPP, PML-N or Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would react if the same happened to their party members.

“We are the fourth largest party and we are being prevented from playing our role. We have been pushed against the wall,” he said.

Sattar added that a judicial commission should be formed to investigate cases of missing citizens. “When we ask for justice, why is there a hindrance in providing us justice if this is a democracy with a representative government?”

“Karachi only receives 66 per cent revenue. We demand justice, and for the establishment of a judicial commission. We have raised our concerns before the Sindh chief minister, home minister, prime minister and Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, but were never given a clear response,” the MQM leader told the NA.

“We were told that all of this is a result of Altaf Hussain’s speeches from London,” he added, saying that the government’s ban on Altaf’s speeches was in violation of Article 19 of the Constitution. He said that Khawaja Asif, Munawar Hassan, Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Maulana Abdul Aziz had also spoken about the armed forces in public.

ALTAF HAS A PROPOSITION:

Earlier, in a telephonic conversation with a private television channel from London on Wednesday, MQM chief Altaf Hussain said that his party’s lawmakers will take back resignations if their reservations and concerns are addressed.

Hussain said that no power other than that of God can finish MQM. He said that he had been leading MQM for 37 years and it is normal for people to come and leave parties. He said that many of MQM workers were missing and he rejected allegations of having connection with criminal syndicates.

The MQM chief said that he had raised “injustices” done to him and party on every level, yet his voice had fallen over deaf ears. He said that MQM workers are being targeted in Karachi operation, adding that two raids had been conducted at Nine Zero, yet “no criminals had been caught”.

Moreover, he said that his party would have cooperated if Rangers had told that a certain member of the party is involved in illicit activities.

Hussain lamented that Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar had promised that there would be no “extra judicial killings and missing persons” while a monitoring committee will be formed for checks, yet no step had been taken in this regard.

Reiterating his stance as a “patriot”, Hussain said that his party will celebrate independence on August 14 with full zeal and zest.

BRINGING MQM BACK:

In the meanwhile, NA Opposition Leader Syed Khurshid Shah and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam –Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman have accelerated efforts to avoid the acceptance of MQM’s resignation.

Shah curtailed his tour of flood-hit Chitral and returned to Islamabad after the emergence of the resignations case. He also cancelled his proposed visit to Kasur where was to meet families of the children who became victim of sexual abuse.

According to sources, Shah has asked the NA speaker to “not make haste” in accepting the resignations. He would also contact Senate chairman besides holding an emergency meeting with the prime minister today to discuss the situation, sources added. He will also try to play role in removing reservations of MQM regarding Rangers operation in Karachi and arrests of MQM workers.

Moreover, the JUI-F chief discussed the situation with MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar who told him to contact party chief in London. Fazl is likely to contact Hussain besides holding meeting with PM Nawaz Sharif today to discuss the situation and find a possible solution of the crisis.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who arrived from Belarus late on Wednesday, held an important meeting with Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar who briefed him on the situation arising from the MQM resignations. It is expected that the PM will hold marathon meetings with political leaders today (Thursday) to defuse the situation.