MNA Sajid Ahmad of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) on Monday said that MQM has supported the different army operations throughout the years despite the fact that MQM itself has been targeted and many of its members were killed.
He was talking to Pakistan Today Editor Arif Nizami on his talk show DNA on Channel 24.
“Plenty of regrettable incidents have happened in Punjab as well, but no army operation was carried out there because the PML-N government came in the way,” he said.
MQM has always weeded out the criminal elements from within and their membership is rejected, however, the criminal elements that were removed from MQM in 1992 were brought back to rule by the authorities, he said and questioned, “Why were those discarded elements brought back and imposed on the people of Karachi?”
The MNA said: “Perception is stronger than reality and the perception out there is that MQM coerces people to vote, but during the NA-246 elections, which were carried out in a heavy presence of rangers, people willingly voted for MQM.”
India has always been Pakistan’s arch nemesis and MQM was never in India’s favour. MQM’s leadership and its politics is always with Pakistan, he added.
“There should be an across the board accountability in Pakistan and all the parties and institutions should be held accountable,” he said and added, “Some form of commission or institution should be formed that can probe into all political parties and different institutions and make them accountable.”
Arif Nizami in his concluding remarks said that there’s a prevalent perception out there, according to which, Sindh is the only province which has the dual menace of corruption and terrorism and Punjab is somehow “sacred” and that is why no military operation is ever carried out there.
On the visit of Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan to Karachi, he said that there’s still a lot more that needs to be done in the battle against terrorism because unbiased and rigorous accountability has still not been doled out.