In a bid to enhance relations with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) affirmed its “complete cooperation” to President Asif Zardari on Wednesday and expressed readiness to collaborate with any political faction to tackle issues affecting urban areas of Sindh.
Despite being a coalition partner of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government at the federal level, MQM-P’s legislators sit in the opposition benches within the Sindh Assembly.
A delegation of MQM-P, led by party convener Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and including senior leaders Dr. Farooq Sattar and Mustafa Kamal, met with the president at Chief Minister House. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi were also present during the meeting.
The MQM-P leaders discussed the overall law and order situation in Karachi, particularly highlighting the alarming increase in street crime, and expressed willingness to collaborate with all political parties, including the PPP, for the betterment of the country and the province.
They extended congratulations to President Zardari on his re-election and conveyed their concerns over the deteriorating law and order scenario in Karachi, urging him to leverage his influence to restore peace in the city, as per a press release issued by the CM House.
President Zardari appreciated the MQM-P’s overtures and assured them that the government would engage all stakeholders to implement measures aimed at restoring peace.
In a subsequent MQM-P statement, the party expressed “serious apprehensions” about the escalating law and order challenges, particularly in Karachi, and appealed to President Zardari to leverage his influence for peace restoration in the city.
The statement underscored the need for all political factions to collaboratively devise a strategy to confront the nation’s challenges.
MQM-P informed the president of its readiness to collaborate with political entities at all levels to contribute towards resolving issues impacting urban areas of the province.
President Zardari assured the MQM-P delegation of his personal oversight of the security situation in the province and his commitment to its improvement.
