ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has directed Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal to look into the complaints of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan about cases against its leaders and workers pending before various courts and “ensure” that justice prevailed.

The directives were issued by the prime minister during a meeting with a party delegation, headed by MQM-P chief Dr Farooq Sattar, at the PM Office here on Wednesday.

Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar, senior leaders Amir Khan, Kunwar Naveed Jameel and Kamran Tessori were part of the MQM delegation, whereas the prime minister was assisted by Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair, the interior minister, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Senator Saleem Zia, Special Assistant to the PM on Economic Affairs Miftah Ismail and president PML-N Karachi division Munawar Raza.

The federal govt will release funds for Karachi, Hyderabad packages this month

According to an official handout issued by the PM Office, the participants in the meeting agreed that development funds for Karachi and Hyderabad would be released by the Centre during the current month to ensure early start of the work on these projects.

It was decided that the prime minister would lay the foundation stone of a new university in Hyderabad in November.

Sindh govt’s ‘non-cooperation’

The MQM delegation informed the prime minister about the “non-cooperation” of the PPP-led Sindh government with the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation.

They said that the people of Karachi had been suffering due to the Sindh government’s lack of seriousness in improving the affairs of the KMC.

The prime minister assured the MQM delegation that the federal government would ask the Sindh government to resolve the matter.

PM Abbasi said the government had respect for all democratic institutions and the local governments had a very important role in the development of the country.

There was a consensus among the participants that all steps would be taken to ensure peace in Karachi.

The prime minister said that the present government had approved “a record package” for Karachi and all promises made by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in this regard would be fulfilled.

There was unanimity of views among the participants that continuity of democratic process was a must for the development and prosperity of Pakistan.

Sources said the meeting of the MQM-P delegation with the prime minister had been arranged by the Sindh governor against the backdrop of an understanding between the two parties at the time of the election of the prime minister in August.

Despite sitting on the opposition benches in parliament, the MQM had voted for Mr Abbasi in the election for the office of prime minister.

The MQM had decided to support Mr Abbasi in retaliation to its differences with the PPP.

Later, the MQM initiated a move to replace the opposition leader in the National Assembly, Syed Khursheed Shah, with Shah Mehmood Qureshi of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and the two parties also had had meetings in Karachi and Islamabad to discuss their strategy.

Political experts believe that the MQM-P’s move to change the opposition leader in the lower house was a “political tactic” to give a message to the PPP as well as to gain the attention of the ruling PML-N, particularly PM Abbasi, to remind him of the promises he made with the party at the time of his election to the office of prime minister.

Sources in the MQM said that the ruling PML-N had assured the MQM of its fullest support in resolving the issue of its “missing” party activists and stopping the “party-oriented” Rangers’ operation in Karachi.

Besides this, the sources said, the MQM had also sought assistance from the PML-N in making the local government system functional in Sindh, particularly in Karachi.

The MQM had also sought development packages and mega projects for Karachi and Hyderabad.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2017