‘ANP being systematically silenced and sidelined at MQM’s behest’

KARACHI – The Awami National Party (ANP) is systematically being silenced and sidelined by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) at the behest of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), alleged party spokesperson Qadir Khan on Sunday.
“There have been attempts to silence the ANP, with MQM leaders refusing to share any platform on talk shows and discussion forums – especially ones on the electronic media,” the ANP spokesperson told Pakistan Today.
“Of late, there have been two such attempts: there was an event in Hyderabad where MQM was represented by Haider Abbas Rizvi and PPP by Fauzia Wahab. Shahi Syed was to represent ANP, but we were told at the last minute that the event had been cancelled. Later on, we received information that Rizvi had tied his participation to the ANP not being invited,” Khan said.
“Similar was the story in another event, this one hosted in a hotel in Karachi. [ANP-Sindh President] Shahi Syed was supposed to leave for Dubai, but he postponed his departure for the event. We were told a few hours before the event that it had been called off. Next day, the media carried reportage of the event,” the ANP spokesperson added.
According to Khan, these attempts of media silencing follow the MQM’s snubbing of all-party conferences – twice – that the PPP was attempting to convene. To save face, Khan said, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah simply said that there was no need to convene an all-parties conference on the issue of Karachi.
Given the seeming cold war between the two parties, ANP’s Sindh president on Sunday called for the formation of a standing committee of the National Assembly to probe into Karachi’s affairs, and pinpoint the forces responsible for disturbing Karachi’s peace. “Both the president and prime minister promised the formation of a judicial commission, but none were ever formed. Similarly, Rehman Malik’s assurances have come to naught. The Supreme Court is also silent,” Khan said.
The ANP spokesperson argued that a standing committee of the National Assembly – with representation from all political parties – will ensure that a roadmap to ensuring Karachi’s peace is chalked out. “Things need to be clear; if elements within the ANP are involved, they should be pinpointed. If people from the MQM are involved, they should be identified as well,” Khan said.
Meanwhile, PPP-Sindh Secretary-General Taj Haider said that while they had to say “one thing to some friends, and something else to others,” the need of the hour was for secular forces to unite in the face of a “new IJI-like formation.”
“These two parties, the MQM and the ANP, are ideologically closer to us and are not into religious politics. Our friends should realise that we want to carry everyone, and such disputes will not help the left and left-of-centre forces,” Haider said.