KARACHI: In a surprise move, the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, who is the nominee of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, on Friday agreed to “move forward”, ignoring “bitterness” for the development of Karachi.

The governor visited the JI headquarters Idara Noor-i-Haq on the invitation of party’s city chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman and held a detailed discussion and shared brief details with the media about the motive of their meeting and points of their conversations.

The two sides surprisingly preferred to pick a reconciliatory tone after recent allegations against each other, calling it “nothing personal” but a line they toed over some “misunderstanding and confusion.”

The meeting between the two sides came against the backdrop of the growing criticism of the MQM-P that had ensued after the recent verdict of the Sindh High Court which upheld the death penalty handed down to two MQM workers in the Baldia factory fire case. Among others, senior MQM-P leader Mustafa Kamal was found more aggressive against the JI who had called it a “party of hypocrites”.

Tessori visits JI headquarters on Hafiz Naeem’s invitation

However, unlike his party’s stance, Governor Tessori called it “a confusion and misunderstanding” as reason behind his recent disagreement with the JI.

The same gesture was showed by JI’s Hafiz Naeem, who welcomed the governor and thanked him for visiting the party headquarters over his invitation.

They were found in agreement that the recent “bitterness” and “unpleasant situation” between the two sides over the Jafco Ground in North Nazimabad emerged due to “misunderstanding and communication gap.”

“Now the issue has been resolved amicably,” said Mr Tessori while talking to reporters after the meeting.

“The country has set its goals and soon you would see things happening. Let me share with you that around US $30 billion foreign investment is expected in Pakistan in the days to come and 30 percent of them would be spent on Karachi. So we cannot afford any political disagreement that causes instability at this moment,” he added.

Hafiz Naeem, while thanking the Sindh governor for his goodwill, appealed him to play his due role in uprooting corrupt system in the country and put an end to the so called transition period.

Published in Dawn, September 23th, 2023