KARACHI, Sept 29: Jamaat-i-Islami deputy chief and leader of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) Prof Ghafoor Ahmed on Friday said that despite securing overwhelming victories in the last four general elections and holding portfolios of various ministries, the “Muttahida Qaumi Movement miserably failed to honour its commitments and pledges”.

“Altaf Hussain has now abandoned all his demands and slogans, which helped him in gaining trust of the youths of Karachi,” he said while speaking at a public meeting in Liaquatabad Town.

Lambasting the MQM for not honouring its promises, Prof Ghafoor said the ethnic party failed in its pledges of getting the status of fifth nationality for the Urdu-speaking population, eliminating quota system, bringing back the stranded Pakistanis and providing employment to residents of Karachi.

He said India had been threatening Pakistan due to the cowardly attitude of Pakistani rulers, “who surrendered and opened the borders of the country for the US after only a telephonic threat. Gen Pervez Musharraf is also responsible along with US President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair for killing of the Muslims in Afghanistan,” he remarked.

The importance of the Oct general elections, he added, had increased manifolds in view of the internal and external challenges faced by the country, and only the MMA could steer the country out of the present challenges and threats.

Prof Ghafoor said the MMA was contesting elections with a clear programme and manifesto to rid the country of problems, which it has faced for the last 55 years.

He appealed to the masses to vote for the MMA to improve their living standards and that of their next generations.

He vowed that if voted to power, the MMA would make Pakistan a model Islamic welfare state, where rights of minorities, women and the poor would be protected and free basic facilities, including health and education would be provided.—PPI