KARACHI: Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal has declared that his party, with the support of Karachiites, will compel rulers to give them back their rights and announced that the fate of Karachi will be decided with the people’s referendum planned for Jan 29.

The ‘agents of RAW’ had devastated the city of Karachi over the past 30 years and it was high time for the people to rise from their deep slumber and take a decision for their rights, said Mr Kamal while addressing a press conference at Pakistan House, the party’s head office in PECHS, on Thursday afternoon.

Accompanied by PSP leaders Anees Qaimkhani, Waseem Aftab, Advocate Anees, Asif Hasnain and others, the former mayor of Karachi gave a call to citizens to assemble at Tibet Centre on Jan 29 to raise their voice for their rights. “We don’t believe in traditional politics and have come to do away with despondency,” he said, adding that his party was fighting for the rights of the people.

“Karachi is a trust which is a guarantee of prosperous Pakistan. Karachi’s situation is the future of Pakistan,” said the PSP chief.

He expressed gratitude to the citizens of Hyderabad for making their first public meeting a big success by attending it in large numbers. He said that they had selected M.A. Jinnah Road as the venue of their rally in Karachi, because Nishtar Park could not accommodate more than 4,000 chairs. The place might be good for religious congregations or party workers’ conventions but not enough for a massive gathering such as the one planned for Jan 29, he added.

Mr Kamal said the ruling elite would never bring any improvement to the city situation as they themselves had caused despondency among the people so much so that the suicide rate had increased over the past some years.

The entire metropolis has turned into a garbage dump. Education system has been destroyed. Karachi — that used to lead other cities — now lags far behind other parts of the country. All of this compelled him and his colleagues to realise the gravity of the situation to bring an end to the suffering of the people of Karachi.

The PSP chief said: “If the people want to have a better future for their children, they will have to join us, attend the people’s court on Jan 29 to decide their fate, as no one else bothers [about] Karachi. We don’t have elected representatives, which was why we are going to hold the public meeting to get a mandate from the people to knock at the doors of the rulers.”

In a tacit reference to the MQM-P leaders, Mr Kamal criticised those who made tall claims of having mandate of the Karachiites but were busy in organising meetings and small rallies instead of solving the problems being faced by the citizens. “What do they want to prove by holding small gatherings?” he said. Till Aug 22, he said, those who used to call Altaf Hussain their leader were busy in making money; instead of tendering resignations, a drama was being staged to make money.

He asked those who were complaining of being powerless why they did not inform the people they would have no power to deliver when they fielded themselves in the local bodies elections. He asked them why they kept mum when others were usurping the rights of the local bodies. He advised them to return to the people if they were powerless.

In reply to a question about a planned rally by MQM-London, the PSP chief said their time was up as they could not hoodwink the people any further. During the past 30 years, they had failed to deliver and made money instead, therefore, their chapter had closed.

Asked why a former governor was expelled from the MQM, he said it was because the then Sindh governor did not react and instead kept mum when the Rangers raided the house of Altaf Hussain’s sister.

In reply to another question, Mr Kamal said if he and other leaders parted ways with the MQM after their 25- to 30-year-long association, it was not a crime. He added that the leaders had given up their mandate before joining the PSP.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2017