Urges govt, protesting parties to show flexibility and indulge in result-oriented dialogue
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chairman Altaf Hussain has said that Army will have no other option except to intervene in case of any ‘aggression’ between the government and anti-government protests.
In a press statement on Sunday, Hussain said that MQM is a democratic party and does not want the imposition of martial law.
“But the Army will have to intervene to save the country if a confrontational course is adopted,” Hussain said, urging the government to “take two steps back” and appealing to protesting parties to show flexibility.
Addressing MQM’s 18th annual convention in Washington, Hussain appealed to the participants of long march to resolve the differences with government through a meaningful and result-oriented dialogue.
“Flaws in the country’s system should be rectified through legal and Constitutional reforms,” he stressed.
“MQM is ready to extend all-possible assistance to the participants in the Islamabad sit-in,” he said, adding that his party is distributing staples among them.
“If MQM had not played a conciliatory role to end the siege of Model Town, there would have been a major showdown in Lahore,” he opined.
TALIBAN RESPONSIBLE FOR KARACHI KILLINGS:
Regarding frequent targeted killings in Karachi, the MQM chief said he was the first to identify the presence of Taliban in the provincial capital.
“Taliban are the ones who carrying out target killings in Karachi,” he said.
FROM RED ZONE TO EPIDEMIC ZONE:
The MQM leader demanded an emergency action and practical steps from the government to protect people of Islamabad from an epidemic.
Hussain said that an impasse in the dialogue process could cause short term and long term potential problems to the country and the capital city Islamabad. We cannot ignore the threat of an outbreak of epidemic diseases in Islamabad.
In a statement, Hussain expressed concern over the poor sanitation arrangements for the protestors in Islamabad and the increasing air pollution, adding that it could lead to disease outbreaks.
He asked the prime minister, members of federal cabinet, leaders of the protesting parties, intellectuals, journalists, human rights organisations, lawyers and all sensible Pakistanis to pay heed to the threats of a disease outbreak.
“The local administration has failed to arrange cleaning services for the protesters. Containers put in place for security reasons are hindering people’s movement. Human waste is giving rise to poisonous gas and foul smell in the area,” said the MQM chief.
He appealed to the government to take emergency steps to check the spread of poisonous gases and smell.
“I appeal to the government and the protesting parties to hold talks with the government and local authorities for the arrangement of toilets and cleaning. Otherwise, food items and unsealed water bottles would be contaminated.”
Hussain appealed to residents of Islamabad to use boiled water and make cleaning arrangements in their houses and use cotton gas masks when they go out.
