Govt, parliament and army not against MQM: Nisar

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Monday said the Karachi targeted operation, launched with the consensus of all political parties, was not MQM-centric.
“We are willing to talk to the MQM on any issue, but the problem is the speeches of MQM chief Altaf Hussain,” he said while speaking in the National Assembly.
Responding to the point of order raised by the MQM parliamentary leader Dr Farooq Sattar on the killing of party workers, Nisar said Altaf’s policies had escalated the situation to such an extent that ‘damage control’ will take time.
He claimed there had not been as much peace in Karachi in the last five years as there had been in the last one month.
He said the Karachi operation was launched with the consensus of all political parties and even today all parties except the MQM were in its favour. He asked the MQM to control Altaf Hussain and told the MQM lawmakers that they had no control on what happened in London.
“Please make him understand that his course of action is not going to solve problems; the problem is not with the Pakistan army or the Rangers but with his speeches.”
Nisar said he will explain the reason behind raiding the MQM headquarters Nine Zero if the House asked him to.
The interior minister said no one including the Rangers, the army, the federal government or parliament was against the MQM and the operation was aimed at clearing the metropolis of criminals.
The interior minister said after listening to the MQM’s viewpoint, he had arranged a meeting with the heads of security agencies and some understanding had been reached but Altaf Hussain’s provocative speech created the problem.
He said Altaf Hussain abused and maligned the armed forces and security agencies and now it will take time for damage control. The interior minister said the process of consultation on the Karachi situation could be expanded to include the MQM, the government and the opposition, but a congenial atmosphere will have to be created for this to happen. He said most of the figures being quoted by the MQM were mere propaganda.
He said the government did not believe in the policy of missing persons and the arrest of MQM parliamentarians was prevented after his intervention.
About the Kasur incident, Nisar said it was a heinous crime and the entire nation had similar views on the issue. He said the government had no objection if the issue was debated in the house but it should be within the rules and regulations.