Federal govt not taking revenge on PPP: Sethi

LAHORE: Commenting on the exchange of statements, Najam Sethi on Saturday said the Rangers vs MQM setting would damage the Muttahida because the political parties did not fight against a state institution; otherwise, that party was declared a terrorist or anti-state organisation.
Sethi said the MQM enjoyed the right to protest if its workers were killed by the Rangers but going to the extreme against the paramilitary force had no justification. Citing Balochistan, he said only those working underground, and not any political party, had accused the army for the situation there.
Expressing his views in Geo News programme ‘Aapas ki Baat’, he said the strike call was a right of MQM but it should not have resort to the move when the party was in a clash with a state institution. And the result, he said, was the failure of strike call, adding that the government and judiciary had given the Rangers a carte blanche in Karachi.
About the prime minister’s statement that restoration of complete peace in the port city would take two years, Sethi said it showed that the Karachi issue was very important. Every citizen of Karachi would now say that the situation had improved considerably in the city, he added.
According to Sethi, the MQM is isolated - at first from supporter, later the state institutions and now the judiciary. The Rangers was deputed in Karachi during the Benazir’s 1993-96 government as the then army chief had opted against the army intervention. But the scenario is different now with the army chief supervising from the top while the corps commander dealing with the Karachi operation himself.
The 1992 operation was carried out by the army, in 1993-95 by the Rangers and the latest being conducted jointly under the direct supervision by the GHQ. Previously, Ziaul Haq, Aslam Beg and Musharraf were used to political deals but it is not the case now.
Sethi described the ban on Altaf Hussain’s speeches as a very harsh order and said these things would happen, if the MQM did not stop from its practice. The court order was tantamount to saying that the MQM and Altaf were terrorists, he said, adding that the party was certainly going to file an appeal against the verdict which would be accepted.
According to Sethi, the NAB is an independent organisation and the federal government is not taking revenge on the PPP. The federal government itself seems to be desperate to know who is running the NAB. The NAB chairman was appointed jointly by the PML-N and the PPP but the organisation is currently under no ones control.
Interestingly, the incumbent chairman is holding an inquiry against his predecessor. Former chief justice Jawad S Khawaja had summoned and grilled the NAB chairman. It seems the orders given to the NAB are coming from some other quarters.
About Bilawal Bhutto’s speech, Sethi said levelling often repeated allegations against the PML-N wasn’t enough as it did not impress the people who wanted to see Bilawal doing something that make the entire nation stand side-by-side with him.
The PPP chairman was still dependent on Asif Ali Zardari who himself wasn’t strong enough to stay in the country, he remarked, adding that Bilawal needed to come up with a new vision. He must get rid of the party’s old guard as the message being given to the youth was making them follow Imran Khan, he said.
The PPP, in theory, had a vote bank but in reality and Bilawal would have to create a vote bank, Sethi said. About the complaints registered by the Sindh chief minister’s in the apex committee meeting, Sethi remarked that the lion was always the king of jungle and Sindh was currently just like a jungle.
About Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s reaction to the incidents in Attock and Jhelum and suspension of several district officials, he said the chief minister reacted overly but it was much better than being under pressure.
According to Sethi, a specific insecticide is used in the anti-dengue spray but his source say the one utilised at the two schools was meant for cockroaches. The responsible persons should not be forgiven under any circumstances. It is a good omen that the people’s health is a top priority of the Punjab chief minister.