Politicians must not criticise security institutions, warns MQM

During a meeting of its coordination committee on Wednesday, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) censured a political party, without naming it, for targeting the country’s security institutions and higher courts.

“The country is currently in a precarious situation, and the national security institutions can’t afford such a political confrontation,” said MQM-P convenor Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui while addressing the meeting.

Siddiqui said that the heads of political parties and their leaders should be cautious in their speeches. “They should not criticise the country and its forces because it can benefit the enemy,” he pointed out. “Those who are staging a drama of a letter from the United States should go to the country’s respected courts and present their case there,” he advised.

The MQM-P’s meeting also voiced concerns over the rising inflation and the consultations that were held to control it. The meeting also demanded that the federal and Sindh governments resolve the acute water shortage across the province, including Karachi.

The meeting also finalised the strategy for the upcoming local government elections and by-elections in the NA-240 constituency of the city’s District Korangi. The coordination committee directed the party leaders to start submissions and interviews of the candidates for the LG polls across the country.

Rigging plea

Sheikh Salahuddin, Rehan Hashmi and other MQM-P leaders demanded during a news conference at the Karachi Press Club that the election tribunal decide the party’s petition on rigging concerning 14 National Assembly and 29 provincial assembly seats.

Salahuddin said that 14 NA seats were snatched from the MQM-P in the 2018 general elections. “The MQM-P had gone to the election tribunal for 14 NA and 29 PA seats. It’s the right time for the tribunal to decide our petitions.”

Imran is misfit: PSP

Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal said that former prime minister Imran Khan had proved that he was a misfit for any important and sensitive post in the country.

“Today, Imran Khan has made all the enemies of Pakistan believe that all Pakistani politicians are thieves and all heads of institutions are traitors. What our enemy India could not do against Pakistan in 75 years, Imran Khan did in just four weeks,” he said while addressing a press conference at the party’s secretariat.

He said Khan played only “a tournament of words” in four years. “Corruption, 10 million jobs, five million houses, affordable housing scheme, unemployment scheme, return of two hundred billion dollars to home, all were false promises,” he said. “Not only did even one of these dreams come true, but also Pakistanis got deprived of whatever they had. The country is on the verge of bankruptcy. The stock market has crashed due to the fire ignited by Imran Khan, but he sees nothing but his own interest.”

Due to the incompetence of Khan, the PSP chief said, corrupt tyrants and bigoted rulers and their descendants had been imposed on the nation today, he said.