MQM-P assured its sealed offices to be reopened

ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister Imran Khan has assured the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) of supporting the party in opening of the sealed party offices and recovering of their missing workers.

Amid ‘strain’ within the ruling coalition and the joint opposition, a delegation of the MQM-P Monday called on Prime Minister Imran Khan at the PM House and both sides discussed various issues.

Already, the Balochistan National Party-Mengal of MNA Sardar Akhtar Mengal had made it clear that they had extended support to the PTI but were not their coalition partners. The BNP-M leadership has been expressing concern over non-fulfillment of their six demands, given to the ruling party leadership at the time of formation of the federal government and hinted at reviewing cooperation with the government.

The MQM-P's meeting with prime minister is of significance also in the backdrop of the latest political developments, which say PPP and PML-N, two bitter foes, joining hands against the PTI-led coalition government.

During the meeting at the Prime Minister's Office, the two sides discussed the challenges being faced by the megacities in Sindh, including Karachi and Hyderabad besides the latest political scene at the national and Sindh level.

The meeting decided that a committee would be constituted under the chairmanship of Sindh Governor Imran Ismael to strengthen the coordination between the two parties in connection with the development projects at the provincial level. Imran told the MQM-P delegation that he realises the challenges being faced by the people of Sindh and remarked:

"The federal government will play its role in resolving these problems". The two sides agreed that obstacles in the restoration of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) would be removed on a priority basis. It was also decided that the prime minister would lay the foundation stone of a university in Hyderabad.

The Minister for Information Technology Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Minister for Law and Justice Dr Farogh Naseem and MNA Syed Ameenul Haq were present during the meeting besides Minister for Finance Asad Umar, Special Assistant to PM on Political Affairs Naeemul Haq and MNA Malik Muhammad Amir Dogar.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan directed early completion of mapping of the buildings carrying historical and heritage value and promoting religious tourism across Pakistan. He was chairing a meeting of the National Oversight Committee Adaptive Re-use of Public Buildings having heritage value here.

The prime minister said buildings with historical value, religious places and other tourism sites, spread across the country, carry huge tourism potential that needs to be introduced to the world.

Imran laid emphasis on the change in mindset that ensured preservation along with optimum utilisation of the public buildings. During the meeting, the prime minister reviewed progress on the optimum use of various buildings including the PM House, Governor Houses, State Guest Houses of Karachi and Lahore, Qasr-e-Naz and other buildings located in various parts of the country.

The prime minister said the objective of the step is to open-up these public buildings with historical value for the public, the real owners of these buildings. He contended preserving the historical buildings by putting in place a mechanism so the revenue is generated from them for their upkeep and maintenance.