KARACHI: PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain visited Nine Zero, the headquarters of Muttahida Qaumi Movement, on Tuesday night and listened to the party`s grievances. According to sources, he also persuaded his old-time ally to return to the coalition fold as desired by President Asif Ali Zardari.MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar later told reporters that Shujaat`s visit to Nine Zero was a timely act and aimed at taking `stock of the situation`. Chaudhry Shujaat, whose party is now a part of the PPP government at the centre, held a meeting with members of the MQM coordination committee. Dr Sattar informed him about several steps taken by the government following the MQM decision to sit on the opposition benches in the parliament and in Sindh assembly. He was shown footage of violent incidents in Orangi and was informed about the failure of the administration to restore peace in Karachi. According to insiders, when the PML-Q chief told the meeting that the president wanted the MQM to rejoin the coalition, Dr Sattar said that either Mr Zardari was helpless or was himself involved in worsening the situation. MQM`s Mustafa Kamal told Chaudhry Shujaat that the state of affairs was being messed up on the directives of President Zardari because the government was hurriedly taking anti-MQM steps. The PML-Q chief was also told that the people were demanding a separate province for them because they believed that the PPP government was pushing them against the wall.Dr Sattar said that Chaudhry Shujaat was told about the government steps which the MQM believed were undemocratic and unconstitutional and that caused a sense of alienation and might hurt the urban-rural unity. He said the MQM informed the PML-Q chief that it wanted to play its due role while sitting on the opposition benches and it was ready to extend its unconditional cooperation for the restoration and strengthening of peace. Chaudhry Shujaat told newsmen that although he had met President Zardari a day before, he did not come here with his message. However, when asked whether President Zardari was serious in bringing back the MQM to the coalition fold, he replied that he was very much serious and wanted to make MQM a part of the government. “We will never support the oppressor no matter how close that person with us,” he said. He was of the view that the top leaders of all political and religious parties should come to Karachi and work for maintaining peace. He said that the PML-Q had not supported the imposition of the commissioner system. REFERENCE: Shujaat visits 90, urges MQM to rejoin govt By Azfar-ul-Ashfaque | From the Newspaper (15 hours ago) Today http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/13/shujaat-visits-90-urges-mqm-to-rejoin-govt.html
NAWABSHAH, Jan 8: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement has condemned Pakistan Muslim League-Q’s advertisement campaign as “it has given rise to hatred against non-Sindhis”. Talking to reporters from London by telephone at the press club here on Tuesday, MQM Coordination Committee Member Mustafa Azizabadi said Sindh needed unity and harmony at the moment. He said the Muttahida had always stood for the rights of Sindh and opposed the construction of Kalabagh Dam while the PML-Q was in its favour. The MQM leader said that the activists of Pakistan People’s Party were in grief and a state of anger after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, but some miscreants capitalised on the mood by looting and burning public and private properties. Mustafa Azizabadi said Altaf Hussain had written a letter to Sindhi elders, sisters and mothers expressing sympathy with them. He said that the MQM was making all-out efforts to compensate the people affected by the violence. REFERENCE: MQM condemns PML-Q’s ad campaign By Our Correspondent http://archives.dawn.com/2008/01/09/nat7.htm
Let me tell you very clearly as to who is playing this “Alleged Sindh Card” – It is the Jang Group and Shaheen Sehbai who had himself written on these parochial lines after the death of Benazir Bhutto. Kashif Abbasi (ARY NEWS) Misquote Dr Zulfiqar Mirza & Quote Dr. Qadir Magsi. http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2011/04/kashif-abbasi-ary-news-misquote-dr.html GEO TV's Tickers & Shaheen Sehbai incite MQM-PPP Clash. http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2010/01/geo-tvs-tickers-shaheen-sehbai-incite.html
Daily Jang had carried this “Purely Hate Message” Advertisement after the death of Benazir Bhutto.
PML-Q Punjab alters ethnically exclusive ad
By Amar Guriro and Qazi AsifKARACHI: The PML-Q Punjab has amended the language of a controversial advertisement it published on riot damage compensation for non-Sindhis in Sindh, after a bad reaction from the southern province’s party leaders and workers. The advert now says Sindhis (in bold lettering) can also apply for compensation.
But the damage has been done. The PML-Q central leaders should find out who allowed the publication of a party advertisement excluding Sindhis from claiming damages in the post-BB assassination riots, argued the party’s Sindh information secretary Saturday.
A flurry of letters has made its way to the party’s chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. “The way the PML-Q started an advertisement campaign in such sensitive conditions is strange,” said Jafar al Hasan, president, PML-Q (Youth Wing) Sindh, who added that he and others registered their protest.
The PML-Q Punjab started the advertisement campaign in the national print media Friday. On the first day, four colored half-page advertisements were printed with news clippings, saying that people affected by the riots could apply for compensation. One of the news items said that during violence in Bin Qasim (Karachi) 12 girls were kidnapped and raped – however, it failed to mention which newspaper published the stories. “I don’t remember exactly which newspaper published this story but I think it was an Islamabad-based Urdu newspaper,” said Mian Abdul Sattar, senior vice president PML-Q Punjab.
“It is against the party’s basic manifesto and with such a move the PML-Q leadership is dividing the party workers ahead of the polls; that would be so dangerous,” said Ismail Rahu, a former minister and PML-Q leader. “I have collected the details of the losses in my district and most of the sufferers were Sindhis. Most of the petrol pumps, shops and vehicles set on fire were not destroyed by Sindhis.”
Others argued that it was a PML campaign tactic. According to the PPP’s Syed Naveed Qamar, after Benazir’s assassination, the people sympathized with the PPP, something the PML-Q leaders were aware of.
The PML advertisement asked non-Sindhis in Sindh (Mohajirs, Pathans, Punjabis etc) to contact it with details of the losses they suffered in the riots after Benazir’s killing. The criticism was that the advert implied that Sindhis did not suffer any losses and were to blame for the rioting and looting.
Haleem Adil Shaikh has written a critical letter to the PML-Q’s central president Chaudhry Shujaat, asking for an unconditional apology for the people of Sindh. Shaikh, who is also a settler in Sindh, said that the advertisement ignored Sindhi people of Sindh. If the advertisement campaign was a mistake, then an inquiry should be conducted to find out who is responsible and who must apologize unconditionally to the Sindhi people, Shaikh wrote. If the advertisement was deliberate, then its aim was to cause linguistic and ethnic tensions. “There was a strong feeling that the party was only for the Punjab,” he said. Hafiz Tabassi, the media coordinator for the PML-Q Sindh, said that the letter had been sent to Shujaat already. PML-Q Punjab alters ethnically exclusive ad By Amar Guriro and Qazi Asif Sunday, January 06, 2008 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=200816%5Cstory_6-1-2008_pg12_1
Who stopped "MQM" from entering in the National Politics by not allowing them Politics in Punjab, read Umar Cheema (The News International, Jang Group and GEO TV)'s report he filed in 2007 (after 12 May 2007 Tragedy)
ISLAMABAD: The man who has ruled Sindh as a de facto chief minister for many years finally lost his powers on Saturday. Brigadier Huda, who was an ISI commander in Sindh, was in fact the caretaker of the MQM-PML-Q provincial coalition government. He was responsible for running the coalition in a smooth manner. All major decisions were taken after his consultation. He resolved the differences between former CM Arbab Ghulam Rahim and the MQM many a time. Many provincial ministers even used to say “ooper Khuda aur neechay Huda”. The brigadier’s name figured in the power circles of Islamabad in the evening of May 12, 2007. Brigadier Huda was given credit for the show of massive government power in Karachi on that day. Initially, the MQM was reluctant to hold a rally in Karachi on May 12. The then ISI DG Gen Ashfaq Kayani also had the same opinion that the MQM should not come out on the streets when Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry would visit Karachi. It was Huda who played an important role in convincing the MQM not to cancel its rally. He assured the MQM leadership that there will be no riots on that day though he was proved wrong. He was supposed to be very close to the then Army chief General Pervez Musharraf. However, no action was taken against him.The blasts in the rally of Benazir Bhutto on October 18, 2007 in Karachi were another failure of Brigadier Huda. He was responsible for the security of Benazir Bhutto on that day more than anybody else. However, he was not transferred despite his repeated failures. His downfall started on April 9, 2008, when many people including lawyers were killed in the Karachi violence. It was another failure on the part of Huda. The new PPP government in Sindh felt that Brigadier Huda was still having immense political influence. It believed that he was in contact with the anti-PPP forces. Many important bureaucrats reported to the provincial government that Huda was interfering in different departments. He was more interested in “political makings and breakings” than doing his security job. After the episode of April 9, PPP leaders asked ISI Director General Lt Gen Nadeem Taj through the prime minister that Huda must be transferred. It took just a few days and Huda was transferred. He was replaced by another brigadier. The PPP gave a message that it means business and it will not tolerate any ambitious spymasters. There are rumors in the capital that the ISI DG will also be transferred soon but highly-placed sources in the new government dispelled all these rumours. “The prime minister has the authority to change the ISI DG anytime but right now we don’t need to change him,” claimed a top PPP leader. REFERENCE: De facto Sindh CM finally transferred Monday, April 21, 2008 By Hamid Mir http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=14221
ISLAMABAD: The Chief Secretary of Sindh had strongly opposed the strategy of the provincial government for May 12 while the Prime Minister’s advice to the provincial government for a judicial inquiry into the killings has been turned down, authoritative sources said on Friday. It was also revealed that the MQM had wanted to join the Islamabad rally but was stopped by the Chaudhrys of Gujrat. Observers believe that these three important developments concerning the May 12 killings in Karachi may have a serious impact not only at the provincial level but also at the national. Sources said the Chief Secretary of Sindh, Shakeel Durrani, had strongly opposed the ‘counter productive’ strategy of the provincial government designed for May 12, the day the Chief Justice of Pakistan had gone to Karachi for addressing lawyers there. He had written in advance to his seniors, proposing that hurdles should not be created and that the CJ be given a smooth passage. His recommendations were in clear contradiction to the Sindh Home Department, headed by former sector commander of Military Intelligence, Brig (retd) Ghulam Muhtaram. While the home department, fearing a serious law and order situation, insisted the CJ should not take the flight to Karachi, the chief secretary opposed the plan that was aimed to flop the CJ’s show, warning it would deteriorate the situation. REFERENCE: Who is to blame for Karachi mayhem? Umar Cheema Saturday, May 19, 2007 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=7933&Cat=13&dt=5/19/2007
Capital Talk on Karachi Situation - 1 (GEO TV 2007)
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n174Gxw41uE
Classified By: Charge d`Affaires Peter Bodde, Reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 1. (C) On June 1, Charge met with Minister of Ports and Shipping (and MQM member) Babar Khan Ghauri to discuss the May 11-13 violence in Karachi. Ghauri said the Karachi violence had “killed” the MQM`s chances of gaining voters in Punjab province. The party was focusing on repairing its reputation in Karachi and Sindh. 2. (C) According to Ghauri, police and Sindh Rangers were stationed at key “buffer” points in Karachi on May 12, anticipating clashes between opposition and MQM activists. At around 2:00 a.m., the officers abandoned their positions. (Note: The Rangers, like the Karachi police, might have been under local orders not to intervene (ref A). End Note.) Ghauri reported that on May 13, after a phone call with Governor of Sindh Ishrat-ul-Ebad, President Musharraf ordered police and rangers onto the streets in Karachi. Ghauri also said Musharraf asked PML-Q coalition partners to maintain a public posture that would not cause undue political damage to the MQM. Regarding whether MQM head Altaf Hussain played any part in planning the violence, Ghauri said “No, absolutely not. We were trying to expand into Punjab; how would we have benefited from this?” (Note: Reliable Embassy and Consulate Karachi contacts believe that at the very least Hussain suspected there would be violence on May 12 and supported the MQM counter-rally in any case. End Note.) 3. (C) Comment: Ghauri confirmed what in-country MQM leader Farooq Sattar told us in a May 17 phone call (ref C): the events of May 11-13 in Karachi deeply wounded the MQM. Ghauri noted several times during the meeting that his party`s leadership felt “alone” and that they were worried the PML-Q would abandon them. Indeed, a number of PML-Q contacts privately tell us they believe MQM was culpable for the events, and the PML-Q should distance itself from the MQM to prevent damage to its own reputation. Nevertheless, President Musharraf and some other government officials continue to blame the opposition and Chief Justice for the May 12 violence. Given that much of the public and media believe the MQM principally responsible for the violence, Musharraf`s position could exacerbate his political problems. End Comment. BODDE. REFERENCE: 2007: Babar Ghauri said May 12 violence killed MQM`s chances in Punjab From the Newspaper May 31, 2011 http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/31/2007-babar-ghauri-said-may-12-violence-killed-mqm-s-chances-in-punjab-2.html Wiki Leaks on Karachi Violence: 2009: US assessment of Karachi violence DAWN.COM May 23, 2011 http://www.dawn.com/2011/0
5/23/2009-us-assessment-of -karachi-violence.html Wiki Leaks: 2008: MQM told US 'stop ignoring us'From the Newspaper (14 hours ago) Today http://www.dawn.com/2011/0 5/28/2008-mqm-told-us-stop -ignoring-us.html
Capital Talk on Karachi Situation - 2 (GEO TV 2007)
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSA1fhcmG-U
Shakeel Durrani had not only verbally opposed the blockade of roads but had also opposed in writing to such a plan that was prone to violence and mass-scale killings. He had instead recommended that no hurdle should be created and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry should be allowed to go by the route he wanted to use for reaching the high court bar. His recommendations, however, got a deaf ear from those who matter in decision-making in Sindh. Durrani is believed to have also held responsible his provincial government for Karachi mayhem, The News has learnt on good authority. While Durrani did not comment on the report when contacted by The News, another officer close to him confirmed it but refused to provide the details. Meanwhile, the Sindh government has refused to order a judicial inquiry into the killings. The News has learnt on good authority that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz wanted to order a judicial inquiry into the incident. He went to Karachi on Wednesday with this plan but faced opposition from his ruling allies in Sindh. REFERENCE: Who is to blame for Karachi mayhem? Umar Cheema Saturday, May 19, 2007 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=7933&Cat=13&dt=5/19/2007
Capital Talk on Karachi Situation - 3 (GEO TV 2007)
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrJXrQsGLTs
5/23/2009-us-assessment-of -karachi-violence.html Wiki Leaks: 2008: MQM told US 'stop ignoring us'From the Newspaper (14 hours ago) Today http://www.dawn.com/2011/0 5/28/2008-mqm-told-us-stop -ignoring-us.html
Capital Talk on Karachi Situation - 4 (GEO TV 2007)
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsU2chjjrMY
According to the sources, the PM had gone to Karachi with a plan to announce ordering judicial inquiry in a press conference after holding meetings there. Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani, Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao and Secretary Interior Kamal Shah had also accompanied him during this visit late Wednesday. Sources privy to the development say the PM’s plan could not materialize following stiff opposition from his allies in Sindh who said that such an order would open up a new Pandora’s Box. The PM who had ordered judicial inquiry into the mysterious murder of Supreme Court’s additional registrar Hamad Raza, failed to do it in a case where more than 40 people had been killed in just one day, ie May 12. Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao, when contacted to confirm about the PM plan, refused to comment. “I neither deny nor confirm this report,” he said. REFERENCE: Who is to blame for Karachi mayhem? Umar Cheema Saturday, May 19, 2007 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=7933&Cat=13&dt=5/19/2007
Capital Talk on Karachi Situation - 5 (GEO TV 2007)
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3xOHoEW0bQ
Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani, however, termed the ordering of judicial inquiry as a legal issue. He also did not deny that the PM was planning to order a judicial inquiry but said: “I am not in knowledge of the plan”. Also, some MQM lawmakers have been heard blaming the Chaudhrys of the Gujrat for ‘pushing’ them to hold a separate rally in Karachi instead of joining the PML-Q rally in Islamabad held the same day. They feel the May 12 incidents have left an adverse impact on their strategy to expand to other provinces so as to become a mainstream political party. The Karachi tragedy has put the MQM in dock as its offices in the Punjab and rural Sindh have faced a virtual closure following protests by the public of respective areas who blamed them for this bloodbath in Karachi. In their background interviews, the MQM lawmakers are blaming Chaudhrys of Gujrat for putting them to ‘abuse’. They say they were not for holding a rally in Karachi. According to them, they had expressed the desire to join the PML-Q rally held in Islamabad the same day but were denied. MQM parliamentary leader Dr Farooq Sattar, in his on-the-record discussion, has neither denied nor confirmed the claim of his party colleagues. But he said their plan to hold rally in Karachi was made after detailed deliberation. REFERENCE: Who is to blame for Karachi mayhem? Umar Cheema Saturday, May 19, 2007 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=7933&Cat=13&dt=5/19/2007 Off The Record (ARY NEWS) on Karachi Situation - 1
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZevFWX95cbA
“Your lordships” are the emerging heroes of this nation, which has been anxiously waiting for ages for a messiah to redefine their destiny. Judges are really up for a change. The change that will give us an independent judiciary, considered must for the secure future of Pakistan. God bless you and God bless Pakistan. One’s heart really leapt after what the Sindh High Court chief justice did on Saturday. The Sindh CJ, Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed, took suo moto notice of May 12 Karachi slaughter and constituted a seven-member larger bench to hear the case. Honestly there are no words to justifiably praise what the Sindh CJ deserves. The May 12 carnage in Karachi had saddened the whole of Pakistan. The images of gun-mafia killing innocents without any sign of remorse, while there was no sign of law enforcers or the writ of the government, are hard to go from our hearts and minds. But what has been really depressing that there was no probe ordered or judicial commission constituted to uncover the cruel faces behind this bloodshed in what we called the city of lights. Only on Friday last, President General Musharraf during his visit to Karachi ruled out a probe into the Karachi killing saying it is difficult to identify the elements that first opened fire on May 12. REFERENCE: The emerging heroes Ansar Abbasi Monday, May 28, 2007 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=8146&Cat=13&dt=5/28/2007
Off The Record (ARY NEWS) on Karachi Situation - 2
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1znCu1dFruk
5/23/2009-us-assessment-of -karachi-violence.html Wiki Leaks: 2008: MQM told US 'stop ignoring us'From the Newspaper (14 hours ago) Today http://www.dawn.com/2011/0 5/28/2008-mqm-told-us-stop -ignoring-us.html
Off The Record (ARY NEWS) on Karachi Situation - 3
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjzFSS8_lqo
He was quoted as saying by the newspapers “to close the chapter and think about the future”. More than 40 people had lost their lives but we are told to close the chapter and think about the future. This is the height of indifference and apathy of the highest order, to say the least. How could we forget what was done to Karachi on May 12? How can justice be denied to those who lost their near and dear ones? The blood stained killer hands must be uncovered. Thanks to the media, particularly the electronic media, the television footages available of the Karachi’s D-day show innumerable faces of those equipped with arms and involved in the killing spree. It will not be difficult to probe where the law enforcing agencies were, particularly the police and the rangers, when the killer mafia had a field day in Karachi. The Sindh chief secretary had opposed the MQM-Sindh government strategy for the day in writing and also inked his expressions on the government files after the incident had occurred. Who overruled him and why? On whose directions were the Karachi roads blocked. Masses would not allow the federal and the provincial governments including the MQM to shy away from a probe, which is must to avoid such gory acts in the future? The Karachi killing is such a gruesome episode that cannot be swept under the rug. REFERENCE: The emerging heroes Ansar Abbasi Monday, May 28, 2007 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=8146&Cat=13&dt=5/28/2007 Off The Record (ARY NEWS) on Karachi Situation - 4
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZarGh-h_NM
5/23/2009-us-assessment-of -karachi-violence.html Wiki Leaks: 2008: MQM told US 'stop ignoring us'From the Newspaper (14 hours ago) Today http://www.dawn.com/2011/0 5/28/2008-mqm-told-us-stop -ignoring-us.html
Though March 9, 2007 was dubbed as a ‘black day’ in the country’s judicial history, to one’s reckoning it was a turning point in our history and an opportunity to end the continuing saga of the likes of Justice Munir. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry today stands out a mile off for his March 9 “No”. Justice Iftikhar was never an angel but his “No” has kindled the hope for the ushering of the new era in the country’s judicial history. The condemned Justice Munir saga seems to be ending and the SHC CJ’s Saturday initiative is just a reflection of the same. No matter what the government says or thinks of what it did on March 9 or have been doing since then, the country’s superior judiciary has given signs of encouragement for a future where we can protect our country on the strength of the independent judiciary. Eighteen judges of the Lahore High Court attended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s address to Lahore Bar on May 5, almost 13 Peshawar High Court judges including the PHC chief justice turned up when Justice Iftikhar addressed Peshawar Bar and almost 11 Sindh High Court judges attended the Hyderabad reception. Although Quetta is still to be toured by the chief justice, an overwhelming majority of the other high court judges have come out public in support him. No comment could be offered on the judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan for the reason that a 13-member Full Court is hearing the CJ petition, one is full of optimism that we would get out of the present defining moments successfully. But this is certain that the nation’s future is today in the hands of “your lordships”. REFERENCE: The emerging heroes Ansar Abbasi Monday, May 28, 2007 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=8146&Cat=13&dt=5/28/2007
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