KARACHI, Nov 1: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement on Saturday called for an impartial inquiry into the allegations against ARD president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi and asked the government to provide the detained leader a chance to clarify his position.
In a statement issued from London, MQM Convener Imran Farooq put some questions to the opposition parties and said that after receiving replies he would discuss the matter with his party leadership and come back to them.
The MQM convener asked the opposition leaders whether they considered criticism of the military and its leader right; or tantamount to a conspiracy against the country, an act of treason and a conspiracy by an Indian agent.
He asked whether they considered the allegations levelled by a military chief against political leaders to be right; whether they approved of a military chief dislodging a civilian government and installing a military government. Did they approve of those decisions of a military government which were taken against leaders and activists of an ethno-linguistic group?
Dr Farooq said if the opposition maintained that criticism of the military and its chief was justified and was not an anti-state activity, then why did they approve of the allegations levelled by the then army chief Asif Nawaz that MQM was an anti-state party and an Indian agent?
He asked why they did not protest in the same manner as they were doing now when MQM leaders and activists were being persecuted and implicated in false cases and executed.
He pointed out that when MQM chief Altaf Hussain had deplored such actions against those who had created Pakistan, the same opposition leaders had dubbed him as anti-military, anti-state and an Indian agent. He said when Brig Asif Haroon had accused MQM of harbouring the so-called Jinnahpur designs the same opposition leaders had, without verification, supported it.
The MQM convener was surprised that while the PML-N was making hue and cry over its acting president Javed Hashmi’s arrest, it did not protest in a similar manner when party chief Mian Nawaz Sharif was being banished. He raised the same question about Asif Zardari’s arrest.
Criticizing the opposition’s policies towards Gen Pervez Musharraf, he asked why they did not behave in a similar manner regarding the past military takeovers. In the past, he said, the same leaders had approved of Gen Ziaul Haq remaining as president while retaining the army chief’s post, but today they were not prepared to accept Gen Musharraf in uniform. They were making unnecessary noise over the LFO and in support of the 1973 Constitution in which Gen Zia’s name was still mentioned, the MQM leader said.
