Daily Times

The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and estranged ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) appeared inching closer to a rapprochement on Saturday as MQM convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said a ‘healthy and positive’ progress was made in the second rounds of talks with a PTI team and that ‘visible progress’ was expected to take place in the next few days.

Speaking to media after meeting between PTI, MQM-P delegations concluded, Siddiqui said his party has highlighted the problems facing Sindh’s urban areas and Karachi. “The PTI knew about these problems before we joined hands to form the federal government,” he said.

Siddiqui reminded the media that when the PTI government had to be formed, MQM-P had announced its unconditional support for them. “We recently held a press conference and reiterated this promise of ours. But alongside, we made them aware of all the issues which pertain to Sindh and Karachi. And of those issues as well which the entire country faces,” he said. “We had presented this standpoint before joining hands with PTI,” he said, adding that in the charter of demands, there is no point which brings personal benefit to any individual or party. “We were worried due to the economic terrorism faced by Sindh over the last 11 years and over the way the people were cheated in the name of the 18th Amendment. The devolution of power that was supposed to occur resulted in accumulation of power,” he said. “We have told them the issues in Sindh are of an urgent nature and require immediate attention,” he added.

He said the MQM-P want the whole of Pakistan to walk shoulder to shoulder with the government to lead the country towards progress. “At least [provide the rightful dues] to those cities whose traders and shopkeepers and industrialists are fulfilling their responsibility and are paying more than 65 per cent tax to run our economy. For them, you will not need to ask for aid from anyone; you need only give them what they are owed in their share,” he said. “Even education has suffered. Such democracy whose benefit does not reach the very doorsteps of the people, is one for which we will all have to be answerable,” he added.

The MQM-P convener said that the PTI had provided them ‘a lot of encouragement’ in this sitting and that progress has been made on many fronts. “While there is no point on which we are cross with them, we have said again that the things that have been decided today need immediate implementation for the relief of the people. These schemes need to emerge from the papers they are penned on and need to be seen on the streets and our neighbourhoods,” he asserted. Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak, while briefing the media, confirmed that a committee has been formed comprising Jahangir Tareen, Asad Umar, Arbab Shehzad and himself who are reaching out to various allied parties and are in touch with them. “This was already ongoing since the last 3-4 months when it comes to MQM and in that same vein we came here today because some misunderstandings had developed,” he said. Khattak said a ‘very positive discussion’ was held, “and we are very close (to finding a final solution)”.

The PTI leader asserted that both parties were partners before, are still partners and will remain partners. “We will give some good news soon. We will never part ways,” he said. “So our entire delegation came here to assure them. InshaAllah we will meet again in Islamabad and whatever (issue) is left will be ironed out,” he added. Khattak expressed confidence that the gesture will be accepted wholeheartedly by the MQM-P and said that the party has invited Siddiqui to return to the cabinet. “He will decide in good time. There are some issues which still need to be discussed,” he said, adding, “There is no major issue remaining, just some small points which need to be fine-tuned and those will be sorted.” The defence minister said there was no need for the hue and cry raised in the country over MQM having ‘parted ways with the PTI’. “They have not left us. They have just left the cabinet but remain our partner and will always be,” he said, adding that discussions with all the allied parties have been held “and no one is leaving us and we will remain united for this entire five-year period.”