Muttahida reluctant to support NRO

KARACHI - The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has not taken any decision about the NRO so far which reflects the partys reluctance to support the reconciliatory ordinance in the Parliament, TheNation learnt on Friday. Although, the MQM has been benefited from the NRO as hundreds of cases registered against its office-bearers and workers were quashed after the ordinance was promulgated former military ruler Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf. Commenting on the issue, MQM Deputy Parliamentary Leader in the National Assembly, Haider Abbas Rizvi said that MQM has yet to finalize its strategy about the NRO that whether or not the party support it. He said, The political efficacy of NRO has now been changed. On the time of the promulgation of the NRO, it was the reconciliatory ordinance but now the essence of the ordinance has been changed. He said that there were two aspects of NRO, the legal aspects and the political ones, adding that they were focusing on the political aspects of the ordinance. Either the parliament approves or disapproves the ordinance, the MQM will not be affected in any condition because major cases against its office-bearers and workers have been cleared by the judiciary due to the incomplete and fake charges, he added. Rizvi pointed out that the MQM won all major cases against the party from the judiciary, including major Kaleem case in which the court fined the petitioner of Rs5,000 for bring false allegations while Hakeem Saeed assassination case was also dismissed due to a lack of evidences against the MQM. If the remaining cases make on review with the Judiciary then these cases against our leadership will be wipe out because all these cases filed against the party leadership and office-bearers were fabricated and politically motivated by their opponents, he said. The MQM stalwart said that among the long list of cases fabricated against MQM Chief Altaf Hussain, one was that he had stolen a policemans cap after a scuffle. It is true and an FIR was lodged with the Liaquatabad Police several years back against the MQM founder leader, Rizvi recalled. He pointed out that Altaf had left the country in early 1992 with a clean slate and all the cases against him were framed afterwards. He said that there were several examples of the fabricated cases registered against the MQM leadership, office-bearers and workers in the wake of political victimization of the party in different governments. A senior MQM parliamentarian and MQM Information department Joint-Incharge, MNA Wasim Akhtar, when approached, said they had nothing to worry about the fate of the NRO, saying that MQM has not taken any decision yet on NRO. We are ready to again face these cases in courts if the NRO goes, as these are related to civil courts, he said, adding that the MQM workers enjoyed the benefits of NRO through the recommendations of review board.

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