KARACHI, March 18: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) on Friday warned of a complete strike in Karachi on Monday if it was not allowed to hold its ‘million march’ on Sunday. Addressing a crowded press conference at Idara Noor-i-Haq here on Friday, Prof Ghafoor Ahmad, a senior MMA leader, said: “Millions of victims of poverty, soaring prices and unemployment are with us.” He cautioned that the government would be held responsible for a law and order situation resulting from the denial of these people’s right to raise their voice.
Flanked by Dr Mairajul Huda Siddiqui, Maulana Abdul Karim Abid, Mufti Mohammad Yusuf Qasuri and other MMA leaders, Prof Ghafoor highlighted gravity of the situation and attributed it to the flawed policies of the government.
He maintained that the MMA had announced its plan to hold the march on March 20 several weeks back and the message had reached everyone by now. He told reporters that on Thursday, the Sindh government had verbally informed the local leadership of the alliance that the required permission for holding the march had been granted to the MMA. When the officials were asked to issue a written permission, they said there was no need to get such a permission in writing. However, he added, police raided the camps set up in the city in this regard, and rounded up all workers present there. Police also took away all furniture, tents and banners from these camps and also removed banners and posters from different places in the city, he added.
Prof Ghafoor said that when the authorities concerned were contacted, they cited the mega event of textile exhibition starting on Saturday and indicated that several hundred foreign delegates were arriving in the city to attend the exhibition. He said that the MMA offered the authorities to change the route of the march as it was not possible to postpone the same because all arrangements had already been made.
He advised the government not to create hurdles in the holding of the million march and not to deprive people from their constitutional right to raise their voice against the government’s policies. If any attempt was made to use force to prevent processions, to be taken out from different parts of the city, from reaching the venue of the main rally at M. A. Jinnah Road, there would be widespread violence that could grip the entire city, he warned, adding that the responsibility of the law and order situation would rest on the government.
The government should pay attention to resolving its own internal problems instead of creating problems for people, he said while referring to a tussle between two top office-bearers of the Sindh PML who were engaged in trading corruption allegations against each other. He also pointed out the federal government was also in trouble as a bill presented by it was defeated in the National Assembly.
The MMA leader said that the situation in Balochistan was taking a serious turn but the government was still not taking people into confidence. Rather, it was concealing facts about the fierce clashes and the resultant casualties in Dera Bugti on Thursday, he deplored.
Maulana Abdul Karim Abid and Mufti Yusuf Qasuri criticised the Sindh government and said that due to the miseries caused to people by the authorities, masses were left with no option but to take to the street.
