KARACHI: Wrapping up his party’s 18-day-long protest sit-in outside the Karachi Press Club, Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Mustafa Kamal on Sunday announced that his party would hold a ‘million march’ on May 14 for rights of the people of Karachi.

Mr Kamal launched what he called the first phase of his party’s protest campaign on April 6 when he with other party leaders staged a sit-in outside the press club.

The party had presented its 16 demands to a delegation of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, which had twice held negotiations with the PSP leadership in an effort to persuade them to end their protest sit-in.

On Sunday, Mr Kamal told a workers’ convention that the protest drive had now entered its phase two and it would continue until the government accepted all the 16 demands.

“We are not leaving from here after making a deal with the government,” he said. “Our 16 demands are very much alive and no compromise would be made on the problems of the people.”

The 16 demands of the PSP are about ending water shortage, taking action against violations of building laws and commercialisation, revival of the Karachi Building Control Authority, more powers for the Karachi mayor, including giving him administrative control of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, Karachi Development Authority, city parks, roads and hospitals, a special development package for Hyderabad, etc.

The former Karachi mayor said that he would march towards “the palaces of the rulers” with one million people on May 14. “I ask the rulers to give the people their due rights before it’s too late.”

He said that his party could shut the whole city anytime but it would remain peaceful.

He said that with their peaceful protest the PSP workers showed that they were not miscreants but only patriotic Pakistani citizens.

Criticising his former party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, he said that he had left it because the party was doing nothing for rights of the people.

He said the PSP protest forced the MQM and other parties to take to the streets and talk about the problems the people of the metropolis were facing. He asked the people to participate in the ‘million march’.

Mr Kamal said that the struggle he launched was not for his personal benefit. “We are demanding powers for our worst enemy, the mayor of Karachi.”

PSP President Anis Kaimkhani and other leaders also spoke.

Some leaders also criticised MQM-Pakistan chief Dr Farooq Sattar and said the PPP and the MQM were the two sides of the same coin.

Later in the evening, the PSP wound up its protest camp and took out a rally from the KPC to the PSP headquarters, the Pakistan House, in PECHS via Sharea Faisal.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2017