KARACHI: Amid infighting between the two groups of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, Pak Sarzameen Party chairman Mustafa Kamal on Monday asked the Mohajir community not to be disappointed [by the situation] and [instead] have faith in him since his party was their “only option”.

He invited leaders and workers of the two MQM-P factions and others to join him to serve the country.

Speaking at a press conference at the PSP headquarters, Mr Kamal said he was specifically addressing the Mohajir community and those who still believed that the PSP could not represent them as the political party was formed purely on the Mohajir identity.

“An impression was being given across the country that the Mohajirs are either with Altaf Hussain or these new factions of the MQM. This is an insult to the Mohajir community,” he said.

He said his party was not oblivious of rights of the Mohajir community, but it did not want to pit the whole community against others for the sake of their rights.

‘We risked our lives and raised the issue of missing youths of Karachi’

He said when he returned to Karachi on March 3, 2016, he, without any fear, raised his voice against the MQM and its London-based founder and at that time the Nine Zero headquarters was open and all the current factions were united.

“We risked our lives and raised the issue of missing youths of Karachi and told the law enforcement agencies that Altaf Hussain [and not the Karachi youth] was after them,” he added.

He said that it was his party which protested against injustices to the Mohajirs in the population census “but the so-called analysts are saying that the PSP would not succeed because the Mohajirs would not support it”.

Mr Kamal claimed that the Mohajirs had already given their verdict in favour of the PSP.

He said he was proud to be a Mohajir but he could not alienate people of other ethnic backgrounds. He said that if he wanted to indulge in the politics of ethnicity then why would he have left his previous party.

He said it was his belief that he would never succeed if he did “politics of division”.

He urged the people of Pakistan not to consider the fight among a few people as a battle within the Mohajir community.

He said people such as Liaquat Ali Khan, Abdul Sattar Edhi, Dr Adib Rizvi and Kamran Khan were the identity of the Mohajirs and not the MQM or Altaf Hussain.

He said the Mohajirs had given everything to the MQM and the party did not give back anything to them. “Now the Mohajirs have only one option — the PSP — which could solve all their problems after winning the next elections,” he said.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2018