Warns Pakistan is at ‘critical crossroads’, urges political parties to address rising political instability
MQM-P Chairman, Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, addressing a press conference at the party’s Bahadurabad headquarters in Karachi on Sunday, accompanied by senior leaders Syed Mustafa Kamal, Dr. Farooq Sattar, Aminul Haq, Anis Kaimkhani and others.
“Pakistan defeated India this year; now is the time to defeat its proxies,” said Mutahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Chairman Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui Sunday.
Referring to events in August 2016 when the MQM-P left its founder, Siddiqui said: “MQM held the sanctity of the state above the personality; PTI people will have to decide which is greater, their leader or the country.”
The MQM-Pakistan convener Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has warned that Pakistan is at a “critical crossroads” and called on political parties to jointly address what he described as increasing political instability and alleged foreign interference in national affairs.
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He was addressing a packed press conference at the party’s Bahadurabad headquarters, accompanied by senior leaders Syed Mustafa Kamal, Dr. Farooq Sattar, Aminul Haq, Anis Kaimkhani and others.
Dr. Siddiqui claimed that the MQM-P had been deprived of its “true representation” in the 2018 elections as its 14 seats in the National Assembly in Karachi were reduced to four. Despite this, he said, the party chose “legal and political” paths instead of confrontation.
He alleged that a “coordinated campaign” was being waged against the country and called on the government to identify and act against those involved. “Political parties must sit together and expose everyone who is working against Pakistan,” he said.
Referring to India, he remarked, “This year we defeated India and now we will also defeat its proxies.”
Dr. Siddiqui added that the MQM-P had “never put any person above the state,” distancing himself from its former founder. “If PTI thinks its leader is bigger than Pakistan, it has to make a choice,” he said.
‘Army belongs to the whole nation’
Senior Deputy Convener Syed Mustafa Kamal accused the PTI and its leadership of “maligning the Pakistan Army globally” and trying to demoralize the institution. He said the army had crushed India’s “regional dominance ambitions”, despite facing a much larger opponent.
“The army is not the property of one party; it belongs to the entire nation,” Kamal said. He urged PTI supporters to revise their political strategy and stated that it was unacceptable to criticize military leadership simply because “they are not acting according to the wishes of one party”.
Kamal added that even after facing “serious allegations”, the military still opted for dialogue. “Ask the families in Karachi who spent years searching for their missing loved ones. You are lucky that the state is still speaking to you,” he said.
‘Narrative built from prison is dangerous’
Dr. Farooq Sattar said PTI’s founder had been removed from office through a constitutional process and the PDM government was formed democratically. “Your politics is all about hostility towards the army,” he said, criticizing the language allegedly used by the KP chief minister.
He said the narrative that emerged from prison was “something that only a mentally unstable person could construct.” “Your ego cannot be placed above national security and unity,” Sattar said.
Referring to the post-Pulwama crisis, he questioned why the PTI government released Indian pilot Abhinandan. “Your own MNAs who attended a briefing at the National Defense University were branded traitors – why?” he asked.
The press conference was attended by members of the coordination committee, MNAs, MPAs and officials from various party wings.
