Party demands greater powers for Karachi as Mustafa Kamal criticizes Sindh govt’s governance
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) launched the first protest demonstration of its announced street movement for Karachi’s rights in Shah Faisal city on Sunday, with party leaders criticizing the Sindh government on 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 rally, where senior leader and former Karachi Mayor Syed Mustafa Kamal was welcomed by the party members.
Addressing the gathering, Kamal claimed that Karachi had been disenfranchised for years and accused the Sindh government of failing to respond to the city’s deteriorating civic conditions.
Read: MQM-P renews call for new provinces, announces street protests for Karachi rights
“The people of Sindh are facing genocide. This has been going on for 18 years,” he said, adding that the time had come to decide whether the existing system, in which “our generations are deprived of their rights”, should continue.
He said the MQM-P was not speaking against Pakistan but demanding constitutional rights for Karachi and its people.
“We want our rights as per the Constitution of Pakistan. We want rights for our children,” he said.
Kamal argued that Karachi’s problems stemmed from governance rather than a lack of resources, saying the Sindh government had received 22 trillion rupees but failed to spend the funds on the city. He also claimed that during his tenure as mayor, Karachi had ranked among the 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, while adding that the MQM-P’s struggle would remain peaceful and aimed at ensuring constitutional rights.
The former mayor criticized the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), saying it had blocked constitutional amendments related to local government. He also called for a new constitutional amendment providing a mechanism to create new administrative units.
Learn more: The MQM-P intensifies its “new province” campaign
“A city that provides 70 percent of the country’s revenue should at least have resources. If you can pass the 27th Amendment, then we want the 28th Amendment too,” he said.
Kamal described the current protests as the beginning of the party’s movement.
“This is just our net practice; the actual match hasn’t started yet,” he said.
Responding to 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 rallies over the next 30 days before making a final call for a broader movement.
“In this final call, we will sit on the highways until our rights are recognized,” he said.
Provincial lawmaker Shariq Jamal also addressed the gathering, accusing the PPP of failing to solve 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.
