The member, managing committee of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Amin Khatri, who belongs to Businessmen Forum (BF), representing all the chambers of commerce and industry of Sindh province, has denied that he has defected and joined the Businessmen Panel (BP).
He was referring to the statement of the former President of the FPCCI, Iftikhar Ali Malik, published in the daily Business Recorder on January 1, claiming that he (Khatri), along with several other managing committee members, had crossed over to the other side.
Khatri, in a press statement, described Malik's statement as a "blatant lie", and said that Mailk had doled out this statement purposely to boost the morale of his group, which was at its lowest ebb.
He advised him to desist from starting a "psychological warfare" in the on-going tussle over the resignation of Riaz Ahmed Tata as President of FPCCI, and said that Malik should emulate the principles and character displayed by Raja Abdur Rehman, former President of FPCCI and a respectable leading industrialist of the country.
Malik was present in the meeting of his group at the Federation House here on December 29 when Raja Abdur Rehman walked out of the meeting after he was convinced that the signature on the resignation letter was that of Tata and he was unnecessarily escalating the tussle by not keeping to his words.
Amin Khatri said that Raja Rehman's stand that he would never support a person, who had failed to honour his commitment, had shaken the other group, which was now trying to overcome the shock by creating confusion among members of the business community.
He said that he could never imagine leaving the group, which had facilitated him becoming member of the managing committee for 2003-04.
"Malik is now playing the role of front man of the defectors and 'vested interests' and his fabrication of the real state of affairs was aimed at damaging his position, which has called for issuing this statement to expose Malik's falsehood," Khatri said. He further said that this statement also bore support of other members of the managing committee from Sindh province, who had expressed displeasure over the irresponsible statement, issued by Malik to confuse the situation.
The statement had been signed by Amin Khatri and Bashir Ahmed M.Paryal, Maqsood Ismail and Engr. S.Naqeeb-ul-Hasnain Musavi as an endorsement.