Party demands greater powers for Karachi as Mustafa Kamal criticizes Sindh government’s governance
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Sunday launched the first protest rally of its announced street movement for Karachi rights in Shah Faisal city, with party leaders criticizing the Sindh government over civic issues and demanding greater constitutional powers and administrative authority for the city.
Senior leaders of the MQM-P, including members of the National Assembly and Sindh Assembly, attended the meeting, where senior leader and former Karachi mayor Syed Mustafa Kamal was received by party workers.
Addressing the rally, Kamal alleged that Karachi had been deprived of its due rights for years and accused the Sindh government of failing to address the city’s worsening civic conditions.
Read: MQM-P renews call for new provinces and announces street protests for rights in Karachi
“The people of Sindh are facing genocide. This has been happening for 18 years,” he said, adding that the time has come to decide whether the existing system, according to which “our generations are being deprived of their rights”, should continue.
He said the MQM-P was not speaking against Pakistan but was 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.
Kamal argued that Karachi’s problems stemmed from governance rather than lack of resources, stating that the Sindh government had received Rs22 billion but had not spent the funds in the city. He also stated that during his tenure as mayor, Karachi had been ranked among the top 12 developed cities in the world after development expenditure of Rs 300 billion.
Alleging that the federal government was not withholding funds for Karachi, he accused the Sindh government of not utilizing the resources allocated to the city.
“We need a change in this system,” he said, adding that the MQM-P’s struggle will remain peaceful and aimed at guaranteeing constitutional rights.
The former mayor criticized the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), alleging that it had blocked constitutional amendments related to local government. He also called for a new constitutional amendment that would provide a mechanism to create new administrative units.
Read more: The MQM-P intensifies the push to the ‘new provinces’
“A city that provides 70 percent of the country’s income should at least receive resources. If the 27th Amendment can be passed, then we also want the 28th Amendment,” he said.
Kamal described the current protests as just the beginning of the party’s movement.
“This is just our practice on the net; the real 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 up 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 meetings for the next 30 days before issuing a final call for a broader movement.
“In that final call, we will sit on the roads until they give us our rights,” he said.
Provincial legislator Shariq Jamal also addressed the gathering, accusing the PPP of failing to resolve Karachi’s civic problems and urging residents to continue peaceful protests.
“There is no electricity, no healthcare, no education. Until people leave their homes, these problems will not be solved,” he said.
MQM-P leader Anees Qaimkhani said the protest campaign would continue and warned that the party’s movement would intensify in the coming weeks.
