Summary "MQM wants the Pakistan Protection Bill to end with the end of Operation Zarb-e-Azb" – MQM Chief
Karachi: (Dunya News) MQM Chief Altaf Hussain has said that it would have been much better if the operation against the terrorists started earlier. He felt sad about the fact that the Operation Zarb-e-Azb had started only after costing so many lives to Pakistan. Altaf Hussain also brought his concerns, as the MQM chief, forward on the subject of Pakistan Protection Bill. He said that while it was vital at the moment to support this bill yet he felt PPB to be a draconian law and demanded that the country should get rid of this law as soon as Operation Zarb-e-Azb ends.
He feared that the Pakistan Protection Bill is prone to misuse and that it can be used in future against the democratic leaders and party workers as well. The same concerns were shared a few weeks back by the co-chairman of Pakistan People s Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. In a tweet he had warned that if the law got passed in the same state as it was tabled then even Nawaz Sharif could one day become a victim of it. The copies containing the text of the proposed bill were torn apart by the opposition members in the National Assembly at that time after which government had decided to initiate a debate over it.
The bill was again presented in the National Assembly yesterday after several amendments made in it on the recommendations of the parliamentarians from the lower and upper houses of the parliament. MQM Chief again expressed the same concerns today while talking on phone to the journalists at Press Club Karachi. He said that the law was passed in a hurry by the MQM legislators and that he was not consulted about it prior to the vote on the bill.
He reiterated his desire of bringing a peasants revolution in the country saying that a revolution was nearing every moment and this feudatory society will soon be abolished. The peasants and middle class will rise against the big landowners and landlords and bring this system, based on a feudal style, down. He reminded the nation that he had been raising his voice on the issue of Talibanization for the last several years. “They laughed at me when I warned them of the threat and now all agree with the fact that Taliban have strong presence in Karachi”, said Ataf Hussain.
He reassured the Armed Forces about Muttahidda Qaumi Movement s support to the ongoing operation in the North Waziristan Agency (NWA). He also said that it would have been much better if this operation started without costing so many lives to Pakistan. It was an indirect support to Major General (r) Athar Abbas s statement that by showing reluctance after the operation in South Waziristan, Army had allowed Taliban to strengthen their feet in the NWA.
He said that the politics of protest was uncalled for at the moment as it could destabilize the government and cause troubles for the Army in the operation as well. He announced that MQM was going to stage a solidarity rally with the Army on 6th of July. He also said that this rally will prove that MQM enjoyed massive support among the Pakhtoons living in Karachi.
He went on to announce that MQM was planning to stage another huge rally after the Eid in Army s favor. He admired MQM for its all out support to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). He said that MQM would support even a military dictator if he would bring this feudatory and capitalistic system to an end and provide a level playing field for all the members of the society without any class discrimination.
