No further talks with MQM, says Nawaz

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday ruled out further negotiations with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, saying Altaf Hussain’s recent statements had compelled them not to pursue further negotiations with the party.
“After the kind of statements issued by Altaf recently, whatever negotiations were held with them are enough,” Nawaz told a gathering here.
He said the interim setup would be formed after consultation between the opposition leader and government. “The interim government will be formed after consultation between the opposition leader and government,” he said while addressing a gathering here. He said that if a unanimous resolution was not reached on the matter, it would be referred to the Election Commission of Pakistan.
On the SPLGO, Nawaz said the entire population of Sindh should have been taken into confidence on the local government ordinance issue. “What’s the advantage of such an action that fails to satisfy the people of Sindh,” Nawaz said.
Dispelling the impression of being a friendly opposition, he said: “Had it been so then ‘Zardari Sahab’ would not have treated the ‘friendly opposition’ the way he did.”
Nawaz said that his party’s growth reforms were copied by India as they proved to be very successful.
He said India continued with the developmental work and hence prospered, whereas Pakistan did not as the PML-N government was dissolved. “Pakistan was better than India in every sense back then, our currency was stronger, we had more electric power, our economic growth rate was close to 8% while India’s was around 2% to 3%,” Nawaz said.
“India would look up to Pakistan as our country was fast developing,” he added.
Nawaz said the PML-N was not struggling for power but for values and for the future of Pakistan. “We only want power that can help us make Pakistan a better place,” he said.
Pointing out the problems in Balochistan, the PML-N chief said that the crisis would have not cropped up if PML-N was allowed to complete its tenures. “We had planned to build motorways, schools and hospitals in the province just like other provinces,” he claimed.
Boasting about the nuclear tests done during his stint in power, Nawaz said the step brought Pakistan on par with India, which had become a nuclear nation earlier. “This made Indian leader Vajpayee come all the way to Pakistan to talk about solving issues through dialogues,” he said.
Mocking Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for his claims of change in a matter of few days, Nawaz said these problems cannot be solved in days, it takes years to bring about a change.