January 9, 2006	Monday	Zilhaj 8, 1426

KARACHI, Jan 8: MNAs Abdul Sattar Afghani, Mohammad Hussain Mehanti and Mohammad Laeeq Khan of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal have termed the death of seven people due to traffic jams caused by the movement of VIPs ‘a great tragedy’ and deplored that the rulers were adding to the miseries of people instead of mitigating their sufferings.

In their joint statement issued on Sunday, they observed that visit by Gen Musharraf or Shaukat Aziz to Karachi always resulted in great inconvenience to citizens as the security arrangements for them would lead to massive and widespread traffic jams running into hours.

“The rulers are afraid of people’s reaction to their inept policies and, as such, they take all steps to keep away from public. While the problems the citizens face due to the VIP’s security measures appeared to be the worst exploitation of people, it was a proof of the rulers’ indifference towards the people’s sufferings,” they said.

The rulers were neither aware of people’s grievances, nor were they capable to address them, the MNAs added.