MQM boycotts joint parliamentary session to protest Karachi killings

Coalition partners, the MQM and the ANP on Tuesday vent their anger against each other for the Karachi unrest as the MQM legislators boycotted the proceedings of the joint session of parliament to protest the killing of two of its workers in Karachi the same morning while the ANP lawmakers demanded military operation to flush the criminals out of the economic hub of the country.
“We will not sit in parliament today until the government brings the culprits (involved in MQM workers killing) to justice,” said MQM deputy parliamentary leader Haider Abbas Rizvi while speaking on a point of order before leaving the joint session. The MQM legislators also staged a sit-in on the greenbelt outside the Parliament House in protest.
Talking to reporters, Rizvi advised the government to discuss internal security of the country in the House rather than discussing the foreign policy. He alleged that Ahmed Ali was involved in the killing of its workers in PIB colony. He claimed that 17 FIRs had been registered against Ahmed Ali Magsi, who, he said, was also main character involved in Layari gang war.
“How peace could be restored in Karachi when the MQM’s office in Clifton is attacked while Mansoor Mukhtar is killed by Layari gang war criminals who broke into his house,” he said and alleged that Ahmed Ali was so influential that the station house officer of the PIB colony was appointed on his recommendation.
In a desperate move to woo the MQM lawmakers back to the House, Interior Minister Rehman Malik visited the MQM members but he had to return empty handed after failing to convince the furious members.
Malik told reporters that action would be taken against criminal elements in Karachi involved in the MQM workers’ killing. He said a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) had been formed which included members from different (intelligence) agencies while an inspector general-level officer would head it. The committee had been mandated to report within the next 48 hours, he said.
Speaking on a point of order, ANP Sindh President Shahi Syed demanded military operation in Karachi to cleanse the city of criminals. He said deweaponisation of the economic hub of the country was the need of the hour. The joint sitting of parliament also adopted a unanimous resolution demanding justice for acid-victim Fakhra Younas and other acid attack victims by giving exemplary punishment to the responsible of this heinous crime.
Expressing deep sorrow over the woman’s suicide, the resolution also called for identifying and removing flaws from the justice system which can lead to acquittal of acid throwing culprits. The House, through the resolution, urged the federal and provincial governments to ensure fully funded medical treatment to all acid throwing victims.