MQM-P to announce support to opp in a day or two: Fazl

PDM chief Fazlur Rehman Tuesday claimed that the PTI allies no more supported the government after meeting with the MQM-P leaders in the port city of Karachi. Fazl made the announcement during a press conference alongside the MQM-P convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and other leaders after a meeting at their head office in Bahadurabad area. “The MQM-P will announce that they are with us in a day or two. After meeting the MQM-P leadership, I am completely satisfied that the no-confidence motion will be successful,221; Fazl said. NA Speaker Asad Qaiser has convened the crucial session of the lower house to deliberate on the no-confidence motion. Fazl said the language used by Imran Khan during the recent rallies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was not that of an “honorable person”. “I think, it is disrespectful to have such people assume such big offices,221; Fazl said, says a news report. Before meeting the MQM-P delegation at their head office, a journalist asked Fazl whether the opposition was afraid of the outcome of no-confidence motion. At this, the PDM chief said: “Hum ghabratay nahi hain (we are not afraid).221; Fazl said there was “complete conformity” between the two sides and that he was “leaving satisfied”. However, he added, it could possibly take the MQM-P two to three more days to “make a formal announcement and … hence, the no-trust move will be a success for sure”. He said the opposition was in contact with all allies of the PTI government. “What’s certain is that the allies are no longer with the government. It will take some more time – around a day – for them to announce that they are joining us”. “He is now completely isolated,221; Fazl said of PM Imran without naming him. When asked about the ongoing session of the Organization of Islamic Council in Islamabad, Fazl said after the submission of no-trust motion, the prime minister had lost his position as an “elected representative”. “He is now trying to counter the entire nation, the [opposition’s] long march and the no-confidence motion on the pretext of foreign guests [visiting Pakistan],221; Fazl said, adding that “we still welcome our guests. Respecting them is obligatory upon us and we don’t consider them the guests of the prime minister but of entire Pakistan”. “This is why we have asked our supporters to enter Islamabad on March 25.” When a reporter sought Fazl’s views on the PTI’s plans to develop a force along the lines of JUI-F’s Ansarul Islam, the PDM chief said every party had the right to do so. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui told Fazl that his party greatly valued the opinion and suggestions offered by the opposition alliance’s leaders and will determine his party’s stance on the no-trust move against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the light of their advice. Siddiqui made these remarks while directly addressing Fazlur Rehman. He thanked Fazl for providing them with the opportunity to think “in the other direction” as he implied that his party was previously not free to do so. The statements from Siddiqui have come as the opposition and government continue efforts to gain support of the ruling party’s allies ahead of the no-trust vote. Siddiqui said the situation for MQM-P and other parties had not been alike, saying: “You (the opposition) don’t have to face the circumstances that we are facing. “In the past few years, in order to become a part of the national leadership, we have been left with no political space.” Consequently, his party is made to take every step “very carefully”, he added. The MQM-P leader said his party, as well as the entire nation, was facing “special circumstances”. “It goes back 50 years, and for the past 15 years, we have not been sidelined but [rather] deewar main chunwa diya gya (boxed in)”. Several of his party’s workers were missing and offices sealed, he lamented. Siddiqui remarked that the MQM-P’s expectations from the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government were that it would “give us a reason to stay in the government”. “But if we get to know that the prime minister doesn’t have any authority in many matters, then we should not be willing to become part of a democracy that fails to benefit the people,” Siddiqui remarked.