KARACHI- Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has once again announced breakup with the PPP, saying that it is walking out of the federal and Sindh coalition governments.
This was announced by MQM Coordination Committee Deputy Convenor Dr Farooq Sattar, who alleged PPP of patronising criminals inKarachi.
Addressing a press conference in Azizabad here on Saturday evening, he said another reason was the excess political baggage that the PPP had accumulated through its poor governance and which the MQM doesn’t want to keep carrying when the elections are around the corner.
He said from now on the MQM will sit on the opposition benches both in the national and Sindh assemblies. He said the decision was taken after consideration on the latest situation emerging out the several joint meetings of both the parties, and it was final.
Farooq Sattar accused the PPP of supporting banned Lyari Peoples Amn Committee (PAC) and the criminals involved in the Lyari gang war by withdrawing cases registered against them. He claimed that the PAC criminals kidnapped Urdu-speaking citizens by taking them out of the public transport vehicles and subjected them to physical torture.
Moreover, traders were attacked by the grenades in the metropolis and forced to pay the extortion money, he said. The criminals targeted traders of Shershah Market and killed some of them who had refused to pay extortion money. He said those involved in Shershah Market incident were released on personal bond. Farooq added that PAC criminals were being projected as political leaders.
The MQM leader said they raised all these matters during the assemblies’ sessions, meetings of the core committees of the two parties and also discussed them with President Asif Ali Zardari but no steps were taken to address these issues. He stated that another reason of their decision was the excess baggage that the PPP had taken on during the course of their governance.
“We also have individual responsibility, and now that the MQM has to go to the ‘court of the people’ (through elections), we cannot afford to carry this excess (political) baggage. We performed our duty in helping the government to complete its five year term, and gave many sacrifices to keep the government stable.” He also condemned the bomb blast in Hazara Town of Quetta and asked government to explain the reason of its failure and tell them why they were under attack.
On the other hand, PPP leader and provincial minister Sahrjeel Memon dismissed all the ‘baseless’ allegations levelled by the MQM. He said the PPP never supported criminals and its workers also rendered sacrifices. “MQM remained in coalition for four years and 11 months and now they have decided to part ways, I won’t level any (counter) allegations on MQM,” he said while talking to a private TV channel. He said the MQM was free in taking its decisions, as it was a separate entity.
