MQM-P’s parliamentarian leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqi has said that if the status of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) can be restored then “what is MQM’s fault” that it cannot be unbanned, sources said Monday.
Waseem Akhter former MQM-P Mayor Karachi also supported the statement of Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui on a private TV saying that the government is not allowing us to open our previous offices in Karachi specially the head office in Azizabad. “MQM is a political party but our offices are closed,” said Akhter.
MQM-P leader Waseem Akhter said, “the MQM is struggling to resolve the issues of its people”, adding that workers of the party have been facing cases for the last five years but the party itself wishes to play its role on a national level.
He further said that there is a “sense of deprivation due to the closure of party offices.”According to Akhter, “MQM”, as an ally, has supported the PTI in every situation, whether good or bad, in the last three years.
“Thousands of workers are booked in false cases just for clapping [at rallies],” he said. “But MQM’s case is clear; it is an ally of the government.”
Sources privy to the matter added that the statement was made when the matter of the TLP’s de-proscription was brought under discussion during a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security on Monday.
“When TLP can be restored then what is MQM’s fault,” sources quoted Khalid Maqbool as saying.
They said that the MQM-P leader referred to the clashes between police and TLP workers during recent protests in Punjab, saying that the “terrorist act of applauding at a rally is not bigger than martyring police officials”.
It’s pertinent to note that a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security has concluded today after going on for five hours.
The committee comprising members of the National Assembly and Senate members will be briefed by top military brass about the country’s overall affairs of national security.
The meeting is being chaired by Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Director-General Inter Services-Public Relations (DG-ISI) Lt General Faiz Hameed, Interior Minister, Sheikh Rasheed, Opposition Leader in NA, Shehbaz Sharif, Chairman Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, federal ministers are in attendance in the meeting.
