KARACHI, Oct 3: The chief of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Altaf Husain, has said unless the oppressive feudal is banished, the fate of the nation cannot be changed through elections alone.

He was speaking to the MQM’s election meetings by telephone on Wednesday night at Gizri, Clifton, Malir, and Surjani, simultaneously.

“Pakistan lags far behind in education, science and technology, but it is on top in corruption and military intervention,” Mr Husain said.

He was critical of the government’s policies which, he said, had failed to boost exports as a consequence of which the country owed heavy debts to the World Bank and the IMF.

Mr Husain was of the view that the country’s survival depended not on strong defence, but on solid economic foundations. A country which had no solid economic base, even a strong defence machinery could not save it.

He blamed the frequent military intervention, economic and social backwardness on the oppressive feudal system.

He said the people of Pakistan did not need nuclear bomb or supersonic aircraft. Instead, for survival they needed clean drinking water, health care, education and security.

Mr Husain also criticized the religious parties which he blamed for supporting the feudals. He said today the religious parties were criticizing the United States, but only until recently they were openly supporting the USA in Afghanistan (in the war against the Soviet occupation).

“The people have understood the elements who use religion and democracy as a means to build palaces,” he said.

Referring to criticism that some of his party’s activists were involved in extortion, Mr Husain brushed it aside, and said the MQM represented the poor and the middle class. For running its affairs when it collected donations from the people, it was dubbed extortion. However, those who had plundered the country’s wealth were roaming free, he added.