KARACHI, Nov 21: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief, Altaf Hussain, said on Friday that opposition political parties were promoting divisive tendencies, by pushing their campaign against the Legal Framework Order and General Pervez Musharraf’s uniform.
Mr Hussain was addressing a gathering on the occasion of distribution of relief goods of the party’s welfare organisation, the Khidmat-i-Khalq Foundation.
He said the politico-religious parties were oblivious of the dangerous consequence of their policies, especially when the country was beset with problems, both internal and external, and was in search for national cohesion.
A situation like this demanded vision and insight, he said, and explained that Islamabad was having problems with India, Afghanistan, and even Iran. Within the country, crisis caused by lack of investment, had tainted the employment scenario, and the ghost of poverty needed to be tackled effectively, he said.
He was particularly critical of the stand taken by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal. The MMA, he said, had too many faces to show to the people. At the centre, it had taken a hostile attitude towards the Legal Framework Order, and the issues of military uniform, but in Balochistan and NWFP, where it was itself in the government, or was sharing it with other political factions, it had conveniently overlooked the very subject.
This, he said, was not politics. This was double standard which obviously meant sacrificing the principles at the altar of expediency and asked the opposition to join hands for contributing to the cause of national solidarity.
He was of the view that Gen Musharraf had fulfilled his promise of arranging elections within the promised time of three years. The electorate had sent its representatives to solve problems confronting the nation through some positive work in the assemblies. Opposition parties, instead, had adopted a negative attitude. They had tried to block the assemblies from functioning by thumping of desks, and by daily walk-outs, said Mr Hussain.
He said that protest and walkouts was the opposition’s privilege, but remarked that the situation at present demanded that political parties should try and strengthen the democratic process, because the search for idealism would only be beneficial by allowing a process to continue and refine itself, rather than by creating hurdles on way.
The MQM chief said those objecting to the President in the military uniform, should ask the question to themselves as to why had they had backed dictators like Ayub Khan and Ziaul Haq?
Reverting to the welfare activities of the party, he was happy that Khidmat-i-Khalq Foundation had grown in size and dimension over the last two decades, and had unmatched in quality. No other political party or social organization had done so much for the people as the KKF had, he said.
Mr Hussain disclosed that an IT Institute, a university, and a medical college each at Karachi and Hyderabad was being set up by an organisation which had started from scratch, but which had now become a source of strength for the people. A chain of dispensaries and hospitals were being planned even in remote rural areas.
The MQM, he said, was a party of the poor, was bereft of landlords and waderas. That is why it felt the pulse of the people, and had worked consistently for their welfare. He said that religious parties had promised many things at the time of elections but they had done nothing for the welfare of the people, he claimed.
The President of the KKF, former MNA, Sheikh Liaquat Hussain, disclosed that some 2,500 recipients were given items worth Rs 2.25 crore. The items included bicycles, sewing machines, pedestal fans, handcarts loaded with fruits and vegetables, and items which could help people stand on their feet.
He said that about 10,000 to 12,000 people would benefit from the items distributed today.
Only three days ago, he said, a similar ceremony was held in Larkana. The KKF, he said, was unique in character as it believes in service for suffering humanity without reward.