Warns Pakistan is standing at a ‘critical crossroads,’ urges political parties to address rising political instability
MQM-P Chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui addresses 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 it is time to defeat its proxies,” said Mutahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui on Sunday.
Referring to August 2016 events when MQM-P abandoned its founder, Siddiqui said, “MQM held the sanctity of the state above the personality; PTI people will have to decide which is bigger, their leader or the country.”
MQM-Pakistan convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has warned that Pakistan is standing at a “critical crossroads,” urging political parties to jointly address what he described as rising political instability and alleged foreign interference in national affairs.
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He was speaking at 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 MQM-P had been deprived of its “true representation” in the 2018 elections, when its 14 National Assembly seats in Karachi were reduced to four. Despite this, he said, the party chose “legal and political” avenues instead of confrontation.
He alleged that a “concerted campaign” was being run against the country and called on the government to identify and act against those involved. “Political parties must sit together and expose anyone working against Pakistan,” he said.
Referring to India, he remarked: “This year we defeated India, and now we will defeat its proxies as well.”
Dr Siddiqui added that MQM-P had “never placed any individual above the state,” distancing itself from its former founder. “If PTI believes its leader is greater than Pakistan, it must make a choice,” he said.
‘Army belongs to the entire nation’
Senior deputy convener Syed Mustafa Kamal accused PTI and its leadership of “maligning the Pakistan Army globally” and attempting to demoralise the institution. He said the army had shattered India’s “regional dominance ambitions,” despite facing a much larger adversary.
“The army is not the property of any one party; it belongs to the whole nation,” Kamal said. He urged PTI supporters to review their political strategy, stating that criticising military leadership simply because “they do not act according to one party’s wishes” was unacceptable.
Kamal added that even after facing “serious allegations,” the military was still choosing dialogue. “Ask the families in Karachi who spent years searching for their missing loved ones. You are fortunate that the state is still speaking to you,” he said.
‘Narrative built from jail 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 revolves solely around hostility toward the army,” he said, criticising the language allegedly used by the K-P chief minister.
He said the narrative emerging from prison was “something 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 Defence University were labelled traitors—why?” he asked.
The press conference was attended by members of the coordination committee, MNAs, MPAs, and office bearers of various party wings.
