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ANP-MQM distant from JI despite similar stance
By Irfan Ali
KARACHI: Though the Awami National Party (ANP) and Muttahida Quami
Movement (MQM) share similar viewpoints with the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI)
on the issues of IDPs and Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC),
however, both parties are unwilling to join hands and remain distant
from JI.
JI has been opposing the privatisation of KESC, while recently the
MQM too has started demanding the nationalisation of the KESC. “MQM
itself encouraged the privatisation of KESC and now they want to
divert public attention from the fact that they are also responsible
for the power outages,” said JI’s Mohammad Hussain Mehanti.
Waseem Aftab, a member of MQM’s coordination committee, ruled out
limited cooperation with the JI, saying that the JI wanted to misuse
the issue. “They want to create an impression that the government
has failed. Jamaat-e-Islami wants to exploit public sentiments,” he
said, adding that MQM dislikes this sort of negative politics.
JI and ANP are in favour of the stay of IDPs in Karachi but this
agreement of views has not brought them closer so far. “We had
invited ANP to the All Parties Conference we have held here but it
did not attend these,” Mehanti said.
Amin Khattak, provincial general secretary of the ANP said that the
party backs the anti-terrorist operation and it’s JI that is against
the operation but supports the IDPs stay here. “We have ideological
differences with the Jamaat hence you see us distant from them.
However, we support the IDPs’ stay in Karachi,” he asserted.
Wasif Shakir, incharge of the JI’s Karachi political committee, said
that there is a possibility for limited cooperation with ANP and MQM
but it is dependent upon the actual positions of the two ruling
parties. “We cannot judge MQM and ANP from their press statements
and we want to know their actual positions on these issues,” he
said, adding that empty statements cannot help the ruling parties to
improve their tarnished image on the issues of the IDPs and the KESC.
However, he said, JI was willing for limited cooperation on the
basis of common viewpoints.
Though MQM and ANP differ on the issue of the IDPs, as MQM is
backing the Sindhi nationalist parties who oppose the IDPs stay in
any part of Sindh, yet they are a part of the PPP-led ruling
coalition in Sindh.
Daily
Times: June 7, 2009 |
