Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Karachi on Wednesday, a day after the joint opposition submitted a no-confidence motion against him with the National Assembly Secretariat, and held a meeting with the leadership of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and Grand Democratic Alliance, allies of his government in the Centre.
The premier was received by PTI and MQM-P members upon his arrival at the latter’s temporary headquarters in Bahadurabad. He was accompanied by Planning Minister Asad Umar, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi.
The prime minister’s meeting with MQM convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and other leaders lasted nearly 10 minutes.
The allied party put forward three main demands during the meeting: de-sealing of offices, recovery of missing persons, and speedy implementation of Karachi Development Package.
According to sources, the PM had a one-on-one conversation with Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. The MQM-P leader asked the premier about the political situation to which he replied, “It’s in front of you. We need MQM’s support.”
Here, Siddiqui reminded the prime minister that the parties’ offices have not yet been de-sealed. “Your offices will be reopened soon. We won’t let the no-confidence succeed,” the PM said according to sources privy to the discussion.
The meeting then ended. After his meeting with MQM-P leaders, the premier arrived at Sindh Governor House, where he held a meeting with GDA leaders and discussed the overall political situation in the country. Soon after a brief meeting with PM Imran, MQM-P leader Amir Khan told media that no discussion took place on the no-confidence motion with the prime minister.
“It was a good gesture from the prime minister, who came to our office after a gap of three-and-a-half years,” he told journalists.
He insisted that his party did not complain to the prime minister about “anything”. Responding to a question on whether the MQM-P was supporting the no-trust move, Khan said his party was an ally of the government “but our options are open”.
When asked to shed light on details of the meeting with Imran Khan, the MQM-P leader refused to divulge anything, saying, “We cannot tell you about what we discussed in detail.” He stressed that all stakeholders had to play their role to fix the problems faced by the country. Meanwhile, MQM-P convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, while answering a question on the no-confidence motion.
