The party is demanding greater powers for Karachi as Mustafa Kamal criticizes the Sindh government’s governance
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Sunday launched the first protest demonstration of its announced street movement for Karachi’s rights in Shah Faisal Town, with party leaders criticizing the Sindh government over civic issues and demanding greater constitutional powers and administrative authority for the city.
Senior MQM-P leaders, including members of the National Assembly and Sindh Assembly, attended the gathering where senior leader and former Karachi Mayor Syed Mustafa Kamal was welcomed by party workers.
Addressing the rally, Kamal claimed that Karachi had been deprived of its due rights for years and accused the Sindh government of failing to deal with the city’s deteriorating civic conditions.
Read: MQM-P renews call for new provinces, announces street protests over Karachi rights
“People of Sindh are facing genocide. This has been happening for 18 years,” he claimed, adding that the time had come to decide whether the existing system under which “our generations are being disenfranchised” should continue.
He said MQM-P was not speaking against Pakistan but demanding constitutional rights for Karachi and its residents.
“We want our rights under the constitution of Pakistan. We want rights for our children,” he said.
Claiming that Karachi’s problems stemmed from governance rather than lack of resources, Kamal claimed that the Sindh government had received Rs22 trillion but had failed to spend the funds on the city. He also claimed that during his tenure as mayor, Karachi had ranked among the world’s 12 developed cities by development expenditure of Rs300 billion.
Alleging that the federal government was not withholding funds for Karachi, he accused the Sindh government of failing to use the city’s allocated resources.
“We need a change in this system,” he said while adding that the MQM-P’s struggle would remain peaceful and aimed at securing constitutional rights.
The former mayor criticized the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), claiming it had blocked local government-related constitutional amendments. He also called for a new constitutional amendment that provides a mechanism for the creation of new administrative units.
Read more: MQM-P steps up ‘new province’ push
“A city that provides 70 percent of the country’s revenue should at least be resourced. If you can bring the 27th amendment, then we will have the 28th amendment as well,” he said.
Kamal described the current demonstrations as just the beginning of the party’s movement.
“This is just our net practice; the actual match hasn’t started yet,” he said.
Addressing concerns over administrative reforms, he said the MQM-P was not seeking to divide Sindh.
“We are not talking about breaking Sindh; we are talking about saving Sindh,” he said, comparing the creation of new administrative units to adding rooms or floors to a house without dividing it.
He announced that the party would continue to hold protest rallies over the next 30 days before issuing a final call for a larger movement.
“In the last call, we will sit on the highways until our rights are given,” he said.
Provincial legislator Shariq Jamal also addressed the gathering, accusing the PPP of failing to address Karachi’s civic problems and urging residents to continue peaceful protests.
“There is no electricity, no health care and no education. Until people come out of their homes, these problems will not be solved,” he said.
Senior MQM-P leader Anees Qaimkhani said the protest campaign would continue and warned that the party’s movement would intensify in the coming weeks.
