Some queries about Tariq Mir’s statement yet to be answered

KARACHI: Shahzeb Khanzada, the host of Geo News programme, “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath” on Tuesday, presented his analysis on the confessional statement of MQM leader Tariq Mir.
The MQM has rejected Tariq Mir’s statement published in the newspapers of Pakistan. However certain questions relating to the text of the statement are yet to be answered. The MQM chief Altaf Hussain has also rejected the statement related to Tariq Mir. The statement, stated to be given by Tariq Mir was issued on the social media by unknown sources. Later the statement was carried by every newspaper in Pakistan and very TV channel aired it repeatedly. Even important political leaders started giving their reactions.
Shahzeb Khanzada said it was important that London Police said they had no connection with the statement of Tariq Mir. On the other hand, the report of Owen Bennett-Jones was separate matter, wherein the MQM had been alleged to have received help from India. This report had nothing to do with this statement or the denial of the London Police and that was a completely different story.
Analysing the position of the Punjab PPP, Shahzeb Khanzada said it was facing different issues on the party level in Punjab. Five important PPP leaders including Samsam Bukhari, Tariq Hanif, Ashraf Sohna and Arif Lashari had left the party. Former food minister Nazar Muhammad Gondal was also among those who had parted ways with the party, but he has not yet confirmed it. These dejected party leaders would possibly join Tehreek-e-Insaf soon. Shahzeb Khanzada said the main reason of parting their ways from the party by the Jialas was the attitude of the PPP Central Punjab President Manzoor Wattoo and also the non-interest of the central leadership. On the other hand, certain factions had been formed in Punjab, which were not co-operating with one another.
With regard to the dissidence, Shahzeb Khanzada spoke to PPP leader Ashraf Sohna, who said he had a feeling of being left out from the attitude of Asif Ali Zardari. Sohna said he did not like the mindset of Manzoor Wattoo. He held Wattoo responsible for destroying the party. He said Manzoor Wattoo did not believe in loyalty to the party. He was rather interested in making people loyal to himself. He said the political history was witness to the fact that Wattoo betrayed every leadership. Sohna also mentioned that nine members of Wattoo’s family were office-holders of the party, who had been given the offices neglecting very valuable party activists. Sohna said he arrived at the decision of leaving the party after continued protests and contacts with the party leadership. This was a fact that the party was no more a party of the loyalists rather it had become a gathering of political tourists and jumpers and also that of businessmen. Sohna asserted that he believed politics for respect but the people in the party entered politics for wealth.
Sohna claimed that he never demanded of any position. He observed that parting ways with the party might prove a political suicide for him. He said the party leadership should ponder over the fact why a political worker had opted for a political suicide.
He said all the party members had reached point of depression. Ashraf Sohna said it was hoped that Bilawal Bhutto would give the party a new face on his return, but the businessmen of the party had put this innocent leader in a strange situation.
Sohna said he could not understand how this young leader would be able to save the party from the shrewd political businessmen. Bilawal Bhutto would have to spend some years to cleanse the party. He said it was a tragedy for the party that he with such a mindset who could not live without the party bent on leaving the party. He wondered why the party leadership was not considering how the party would exist without Jialas like him.
Sohna said: “Imran Khan is an honest leader and I have hopes and therefore I have decided to join the Tehreek-e-Insaf. The culture of the country would be ruined if Imran Khan does not prove him an honest leader.”
Shahzeb Khanzada also spoke to Manzoor Wattoo. He criticised Ashraf Sohna for leaving a party which lifted him from an ordinary worker of the party to a member of provincial assembly and later to the rank of a provincial minister. He denied he had given position in the party to his family members. Wattoo said he was re-organising the party in Punjab. The performance of a party was judged by policy of the party and not by any of its office-bearer. The PPP was the party of workers and martyrs. He said he was nominated president of the party a few days before the general elections. No one could give a good performance in such a short period. He said the PPP was defeated in the 2013 election through rigging while the PPP candidates were showing better performance in the by-elections. His son had won the by-election against PML-N.
With regard to the electricity crisis, especially in Karachi, Shahzeb Khanzada spoke to K-Electric Executive Director Tayyab Tareen, who said it was sad that the government had criticised K Electric. He said the K Electric was being grilled through media trial with non facts and wrong statistics. He pointed out that the Nepra had also told that the K-Electric was producing power according to its production capacity, which was 1,700MW. He said the K Electric had increased the power production by 1,000MW after privatisation. On the other hand, the K-Electric had made investment of $1.2 billion after privatisation. Out of this amount $300 million had been spent to upgrade the transmission and distribution system. He argued that feeders tripped as a result of sudden rise in the temperature. Added to these issues was continuous increase in the demand of electricity in Karachi.
Tayyab Tareen said the federal and provincial governments had to pay Rs70 billion to the K-Electric. Tareen said the K-Electric purchased electricity from NTDC worth Rs300 billion in the last six years and had made payment of Rs310 billion. It was not proper of the provincial government to blame K-Electric for its maladministration.
Murtaza Ali Shah, correspondent of Geo News in London said the London Police had refused to own Tariq Mir’s statement being shown on the social media as their document. They said it was not the style of police transcripted interviews nor they’re issued on such papers. The Scotland Yard had also refused to discuss the text of the statement. There was no logo, address or reference number on statement of Tariq Mir. They also pointed out that the police issued to all concerned the copies of the statements.