950815

Add Khan

The head of government team for talks on Karachi, N.D. Khan said, that the government was not dragging the talks to gain time and prolong it till 1998, the year of elections. He said, let the Altaf Group ensure the maintenance of peace in Karachi at least for three months, we will have the final agreement in one week.

Khan said, the contents of the letter, which was distributed to the press, showed government's willingness to call Altaf Group as MQM (A) provided six clarifications are given to the government.

These clarifications are related to the interview of Altaf Hussain, which was published in "India Today". In his interview, Altaf Hussain, mentioned many things, which were against the very basis of the state of Pakistan, he added.

"The government is flexible and certainly not rigid. It wants to accommodate the views of other party".

Khan said, the military operation proved very effective in interior Sindh. Pakistan Army has very successfully curbed, the daylight decoities, kidnapping for ransom and the rampant incidents of car thefts. However, in Karachi city, the operation got counterproductive. The withdrawal of Army from Karachi was demanded by many political parties, national press and Altaf Group, he added.

Khan said, the current search operation for weapons in Karachi, has been started to recover lethal weapons from the terrorists. This operation has been started after the request of Sindh government. This operation is indispensable in the face of the presence of lethal weapons in the city, he added.

"No government can tolerate terrorism, the use of automatic weapons and rockets. The restoration of peace is the top priority of every government."

He said, the attitude of the Opposition has been very positive during the earlier rounds of talks. We expect the same attitude in future, he added.

He said, the participation of people of Karachi in the activities of birth day anniversary of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and in the ceremonies of Independence Day, has greatly "encouraged us".APP