Daily Times

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) deputy convener and former Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar has warned that the party might withdraw support to the federal government if their missing workers are not recovered.

He was talking to the media in Karachi after attending the funeral of missing MQM worker Abid Abbasi.

On Wednesday, three missing MQM workers’ bodies – including Abbasi – were found in different cities of Sindh.

“We entered into agreement with three big political parties, but we are still finding the bodies of our missing workers,” he said.

According to a private news channel, the former mayor said that MQM-P did not support Shehbaz Sharif to become the prime minister so they could collect the bodies [of its workers].

Waseem Akhtar threatened to leave the government if the missing MQM workers were not recovered. “You better take care of your government,” he said. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led coalition was able to oust former prime minister Imran Khan after the MQM-P withdrew its support to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government. News Desk

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar told the participants of the cabinet sub-committee on enforced disappearance and missing persons that government was making efforts to reduce the number of missing persons cases in future and get rid of this scourge.

He expressed these views while chairing a meeting of cabinet sub-committee to deliberate a policy relating to enforced disappearances.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Minister for Science and Technology Agha Hassan Baloch, Minister for Poverty Alleviation Shazia Marri, Minister for Maritime Affairs Faisal Sabzwari, Senator Kamran Murtaza, IG Islamabad Police, DIG Balochistan, DIG Sindh, parents of missing journalist Mudassar Mehmood Naro, Prof Faisal Manzoor Baloch, human rights activist Sami Baloch and daughter of missing Dr Deen Muhammad Baloch participated in the meeting.

The minister said that the missing persons who could be traced should have access and this cycle could be stopped in future.

The interior minister said that the government fully understand the pain and sorrow of the families of the missing persons, and it wanted to proceed with this issue in good faith.

Shazia Marri said that people’s hopes had been restored from this committee.

Sami Baloch said that she had high hopes for this committee due to which the families of the missing persons ended the ongoing sit-in in Quetta.

The law minister thanked the participants of the Balochistan sit-in for ending the protest and trusting the committee.