Amir Liaquat tells Sindh governor he is neutral

Karachi: As part of its efforts to woo its disgruntled lawmakers before the voting on the no-confidence move against the prime minister, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's central leadership on Thursday sent Sindh Governor Imran Ismail to party MNA Amir Liaquat Hussain to convince him to support the ruling party to fail the opposition’s no-trust motion.

However, the non-committal Hussain said that he would decide whom to vote for at the time of voting. Talking to the media after the meeting along with Hussain, the governor said that he had come to Hussain’s house to have a cup of tea, not to discuss any grievance, mistrust, or politics. “I have a brotherly- relationship with Hussain,” said Ismail.

He added that opposition parties had been making attempts in the Sindh House, Islamabad, to buy the PTI’s lawmakers. “The opposition should unite with full force and attack Imran Khan because if he survives, he will come after them,” said Ismail in an emotional tone. Criticising the opposition, he said that Shahbaz Sharif used to say that he would tear Zardari's abdomen but today they were embracing each other only for stopping corruption cases registered against them.”

“I think neutral is nothing. There is truth on the one side and lies on the other side and we have to see who stands for the truth,” he remarked. Ismail said that in three-and-a-half years, Khan had increased the respect of Pakistan in the world.

He said that a conspiracy had been hatched up against the government and all the money was being given to the opposition by their masters. “Magicians are doing deals in the Sindh House and our agencies know everything and everyone’s file has been made.”

Talking to the media on the occasion, Hussain said that he disagreed with the governor. “I am neutral and will decide when the time comes after seeing what is right and wrong.” He thanked Ismail for visiting his constituency.

Hussain, however, made convoluted remarks during the talk. Initially, he said that he was with the PTI and part of the party's parliamentary body, but minutes after that, he claimed that he was associated with the MQM-London from the beginning till now, but not with the MQM-Pakistan. PTI Karachi leaders Khurrum Sher Zaman, Saiful Rehman, Jamal Siddiqui, and others also accompanied Ismail.