Lawmakers' resignations: MQM lays stress on three conditions
KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement continued to stick to its guns on the issue of its lawmakers’ resignations, but it informally communicated to the federal government its three main conditions for initiating a dialogue that might lead to the withdrawal of the resignations, it emerged on Thursday.
MQM sources told Dawn that the first condition was establishment of a monitoring committee to oversee the Rangers-led Karachi operation; the second for setting up a judicial commission to investigate “extrajudicial killings” of MQM workers, and the third for the recovery of over 100 MQM workers allegedly in the custody of law-enforcement personnel.
Know more: MQM lawmakers tender resignations
Previously, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had agreed to the MQM’s demand of setting up a monitoring committee, but it was not formed because of unknown reasons.
It appears that the government is mulling over the setting up of the monitoring committee to woo the MQM, as Finance Minister Ishaq Dar told a private TV news channel on Thursday evening that the government would definitely look into the formation of the committee.
In the same programme, senior MQM leader Nadeem Nusrat said that it would be a welcome sign if the government set up the committee to monitor the Karachi operation. He also hinted at taking back the resignation decision when he told the anchor that in politics “decisions are not the line drawn on a rock”.
“Everything is included in the 18-point annexure attached to the resignation of every MQM lawmaker... We have no other demands,” MQM spokesman Amin-ul-Haq said.
Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2015
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