PPP flays MQM's slander campaign

Islamabad, May 26, 2007: The Pakistan Peoples Party slammed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement for diverting the public attention over May 12 manslaughter by initiating a slander campaign against the members of the PPP.

The MQM has been facing a barrage of criticism from national and international press and civil society bodies for its active role in the May 12 bloodshed in Karachi. The Party that controls the City Government in Karachi also holds the seat of the governor of the province. In order to show its prowess in the financial hub of the country, the party made use of its official powers and blocked all-important routes of the city to curb the citizens' movement. It disarmed the police and the rangers rendering them helpless to prevent any acts of violence that day. The Karachi carnage claimed 48 lives, mostly common citizens and the political workers. Of late, the MQM has been trying hard to shift the blame for the events of May 12 on other political parties.

Terming the MQM's malice campaign against the PPP as 'a ridiculous face saving bid', Secretary General, Raja Parvez Ashraf of the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians said that the MQM's malice campaign against the PPP is hardly surprising given its bleak history of deception and the staunch criticism it has been subjected to for its
role in the May 12 carnage. "It is natural for the MQM to get desperate since this is the first time its violent ways were noted by the millions of viewers across the world who witnessed how the gun-totting goons of the party went rampant, playing with the lives of the innocent citizens." Raja Parvez commented that in today's age of television broadcast, it is almost impossible to hide the truth. "The MQM would be making a fool of itself if it tried to blame it on other parties, since the whole world witnessed its actions live on TV that day."

Rejecting the MQM's allegations against the Central Information Secretary of the PPP Sherry Rehman, Raja Parvez pointed out that a mere look at the series of incoherent statements issued by the MQM against Rehman will expose the baseless nature of their assertions.  "The MQM first alleged that none of the PPP top leadership had participated in the opposition's May 12 rally. This was proved wrong, as all-important
leaders of the party were present in the rally that was attacked at the COD Bridge by the MQM men. It then alleged that armed PPP men were sitting atop Sherry Rehman's vehicle firing in the air. This was again false as there was no PPP worker outside Rehman's car and the unidentified gunmen trying to ride Rehman's car were shoved away by the PPP worker. This was recorded in the video, which the MQM edited out. They are now saying that the two men on top of Rehman's car went inside it after a while. This is another ridiculous allegation, as no such thing happened."

Raja Parvez also noted the reason why the MQM took a good one-week to come up with allegations against the PPP is because "it takes just as much time to doctor a video," he said. "It is ambiguous that the MQM is coming up with fresh video evidence against the PPP everyday. If there is any truth in its allegations, why did it not show the videos the very next day after the carnage?" Raja Parvez also pointed out that all the PPP audio-visual evidence related to May 12 events is credible as it has been taken from footage run by different television channels that day.

Raja Parvez also said that the PPP lost five of its workers in the said rally while Rehman's driver was seriously injured after falling victim to the MQM bullet directed at the PPP rally. "We are not a party like the MQM that would kill its own workers to give out a false impression that they were murdered by the opposition. Our workers, and over 40 others lost their lives to the state-backed bullying spree of the MQM and no amount of propaganda by the MQM can conceal this fact. Gone are the days when people could have been misled by spin. The Karachi public - being the victim and witness - will never forget the MQM's mockery of their civil rights on May 12."

Go Back