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Altaf Hussain terms MQM merger ‘a forced marriage, made for divorce’

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  • Altaf Hussian issues statement after MQM merger announcement.
  • Says he is thankful to those who brought MQM factions together.
  • Merger will only strengthen my politics, says MQM founder.

LONDON: Founder Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain on Thursday, termed the reunification of MQM splinter groups a “forced marriage” bound to end in a bad divorce.

Talking to the media after a court appearance at the London High Court, the MQM founder and leader Altaf Hussain welcomed the development, saying it will only strengthen his politics and his continuing influence in the city. 

Altaf said that the establishment should expedite the reunification efforts saying he was thankful to those who brought them together. He added that the Muhajir nation could see how genuine leadership was removed by using force to create artificial leadership.

Altaf Hussain added that he was overjoyed at the merger of MQM factions, as this will help him direct his criticism towards one party rather than various factions, which was confusing for everyone.

Hussain said MQM-P had launched a case against him at the London court to snatch nearly half-a-dozen properties from him. Those who used to call him their father have betrayed him for the sake of money and power politics, but they will not succeed.

Two senior MQM-P leaders, on condition of anonymity, said that Altaf Hussain’s supporters who disappeared after the crackdown in 2016, have resurfaced in the last few months. 

They said the MQM workers often ask them questions for going against Altaf Hussain and not taking a stand for him the way supporters of Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan stood by them in difficult times.

They said the Altaf Hussain factor cannot be eliminated from Karachi unless the MQM-P delivers for the local communities.

MQM-P reunification

In a presser on Thursday, MQM-P’s Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, MQM Organisation Restoration Committee founder Dr Farooq Sattar and Pak Sarzameen Party’s (PSP) Mustafa Kamal reunited under the banner of MQM-Pakistan.

Kamal established the PSP in 2016 and Sattar formed the MQM Restoration Committee in 2018 after developing differences with the party.

Political commentators termed the move “major”, saying that the merger of the old guard will definitely affect the 2023 General Elections if the party remains intact.

In a press conference flanked by the top brass of the party, MQM-P Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said the “graveness” of the situation in Sindh’s urban areas requires all people to join hands.

“It is important that under the circumstances, the people, whose families laid down their lives for Pakistan’s formations, should come together for a historic struggle,” the MQM-P leader said. 

Elections

Atta Tarar’s triumph over NA-127 in the LHC is contested

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The victory of Attaullah Tarar, the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) from Lahore’s NA-127 constituency in the general elections on February 8 has been contested in the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Samiullah Khan’s victory from PP-145 has also been contested. The petitions will be heard by Election Tribunal Judge Sultan Tanveer. The petitions have included the Pakistani Election Commission (ECP) and other parties as parties.

In the meantime, Attaullah Tarar stated during a discussion with Miss Zoe Ware, the Political Counselor of the British High Commission, that fake news, misinformation, and disinformation were global issues that needed to be managed.

According to the minister, fake news is the largest issue on social media, and the government is working to address it.

The conference covered a wide range of topics, including the two nations’ relationship and how to foster media collaboration. Collaboration in the drama and cinema industries was also covered.

According to Attaullah Tarar, social media verification should be adopted by journalists, and a global code of conduct for social media usage should be created.

Miss Zoe Ware thanked Attaullah Tarar on taking over as Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) on establishing the cabinet.

She was given the assurance that the UK diplomat will work with her to promote bilateral ties between Pakistan and the UK.

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Pakistan

US commitment to resolving Pakistan’s energy crisis is prioritized

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According to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, Pakistan was assisted by the United States in producing an extra 4,000 megawatts of sustainable energy.

According to him, these kinds of initiatives have given Pakistan more capacity to produce energy, allowing it to power millions of people.

The spokesman restated that both nations will cooperate through the green alliance to address the environmental issues.

At a news briefing, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “Earlier, the United States advised Pakistan to halt the Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline Project, as engaging in business with Iran poses the risk of encountering U.S. sanctions.”

“We always advise everyone that doing business with Iran carries the risk of encountering our sanctions, and we would advise everyone to consider that very carefully,” he continued. “I’m not going to preview any potential sanctions.”

He said, “We do not support this pipeline going forward, as the Assistant Secretary made clear last week.”

The Pakistan-Iran pipeline project was approved for completion a few months ago by the caretaker administration in Pakistan. But after this permission, Pakistan received an official statement from the US expressing its worries. Pakistan again put a stop to the project’s execution when the United States expressed concerns.

Miller said, “We condemn the attack on a convoy of PRC engineers in Pakistan,” in response to a query. Miller also denounced the terrorist attack on Chinese engineers in Pakistan. We offer our sincere condolences to all impacted by the incident and are extremely saddened by the deaths and injuries incurred.

He declared, “Terrorists have caused enormous suffering to the Pakistani people, and Chinese nationals living in Pakistan have also been the targets of terrorist strikes.” Such acts of terror should not occur in any nation.

In response to a question concerning a letter from Pakistani judges, the spokesperson stated that while he had seen the letter, he had not yet conferred with his colleagues and would not be making any comments.

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Pakistan

Fazlur Rehman says the government led by Shehbaz won’t be able to deliver

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Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), expressed doubts on Wednesday over the viability of the Shehbaz Sharif administration, stating that he believes the new system will fail if citizens go to the streets.

Fazlur Rehman stated on Wednesday’s “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath” segment of Geo News that “the parliament will likely be a rubber stamp.” There are simply too many obstacles for this government to handle. In the end, politicians will be held accountable for all of their shortcomings.”

The “crime is committed by someone else and the politicians take responsibility,” he said, calling it bizarre. The leader of JUI-F declared that his organization will demonstrate against the establishments that had turned the elections into a “game.”


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Fazl has previously said that he would abstain from the by-elections for the National Assembly and provincial assembly seats. In addition, he declared that on April 25, following Ramadan, he will start a protest campaign against the purported election manipulation from Balochistan.

“We firmly believe that there will be a rigged general election in 2024. And the factor that changed the outcome would be our aim. We reject the findings that led to the formation of this government,” he declared.

The leader of JUI-F stated that they disagreed with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa election results.

“[Earlier] the issues with the PTI were ideological and not election-related,” he said.

He stated that the party had not yet made the decision to work with the PTI. He did concede, though, that the Imran Khan-led party’s attitude has changed for the better. He remarked that it was a positive attitude and that it would not be a problem if the two parties moved together.

Fazl also revealed that he told Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister, that he thought of him as a new blue-eyed boy during their meeting.

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