Altaf welcomes Imran Khan to Karachi

LONDON: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Altaf Hussain has complained that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader has not even spared him and made several baseless allegations against him, without ever furnishing any proof, in Pakistan as well as abroad.
Speaking on Saturday night to a large crowd of Pakistani community, who had gathered at a West London community hall to celebrate the 61st birthday celebrations of the MQM leader, Hussain said that he was the first one to welcome Imran Khan’s entry into the Pakistani politics and had hailed his participation in politics as a positive sign but he suggested that Imran Khan turned out to be a disappointment.
With an open heart, said Hussain, Imran Khan was welcomed to hold a rally in Karachi and not only him but anyone who wanted to do politics in Karachi was welcome. “Anyone who comes to Karachi is our guest. I want to congratulate Imran Khan in advance on holding a rally in Karachi from the bottom of my heart.”
He said Imran Khan has made many wild allegations against him but he has never retaliated in the same fashion. “There is no tension between us and we don’t want a confrontation with anyone. We congratulated Imran Khan on his election victory.”
Altaf Hussain said that he didn’t want the division of Sindh at any cost but his demand for the formation of more provinces on administrative basis was a just demand and he will not compromise on that. He said that Pakistan needed new provinces and better and local management and local decisions to come out of the serious crises it faces today.
“You can name the new provinces such as North West Sindh Province, North East Sindh Province, Southern Sindh Province, South Punjab, Upper Punjab, Lower Punajb¸ Central Punjab and so on. There is no break-up of any province, the new provinces will remain part of the main provinces and there will be no change. If a solution then there are solutions but if you want to create problems then its another matter. Eastern provinces in Saudi Arabia are an example. New provinces will not dent Pakistan but will strengthen the country.”
Hussain said that Pakistani media was not paying attention to the fact that it was MQM that for the first time introduced the term “revolution” to Pakistan while talking about the genuine change in the country but the media these days talked as if Imran Khan and Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri were the only ones talking about the anti status-quo revolution. He said parts of the media didn’t want the system of status-quo to go away, therefore, they were part of the same plot. “Their propaganda has been poisonous and vindictive. They ignore the fact that we have been sending middle-class representatives through elections to assemblies for many decades.”He said that the MQM was against all forms and kinds of violence.