KARACHI, May 12: Parliamentary leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in the Sindh assembly Kunwar Naveed on Thursday said that his resolution calling on multinational firms and other industrial and business concerns to give preference to local people in jobs was for the collective interest of the people of Sindh and in no way intended to harm their interests.

He was addressing a news conference after the Sindh Assembly was adjourned for the day after adopting the resolution by majority.

Mr Naveed was accompanied by in-charge of the MQM coordination committee Anwar Alam, Minister for planning Shoaib Bukhari, MPAs Mohammad Hussain and Abdul Quddoos and others.

Mr Naveed said that the resolution was fully in conformity with the partyline and envisioned in the party manifesto. He said that the MQM always stood for improving standard of living of the people of Sindh by creating more job opportunities for them. The demand for preference to local people was tailored to achieve that objective and was not at all against the people of Sindh, he maintained.

He regretted that the PPP had crossed limits of civilized norms as it hurled abuses while the resolution was moved. He alleged that the PPP had always used the ‘Sindh card’ for achieving its self-centred objectives and at the cost of the interests of the people of Sindh.

Mr Naveed said that MQM was still committed to its principled stand on the NFC Award and it had no intention of betraying the people of Sindh. He referred to the MQM’s proposal for resource allocation to the provinces on the basis of revenue generation. He recalled that during the tenure of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, allocations were made for Kalabagh Dam and Thal Canal.

When his attention was drawn to the remarks by leader of the opposition that due to the resolution, people from the interior of Sindh would not get jobs in Karachi, the MQM leader said that the resolution was just a recommendation and not mandatory upon the firms addressed. There was also no mention of Karachi in the resolution.

He pointed out that in the interest of Sindh, Mohajirs who were identified with Pakistan Movement mingled with the people of Sindh.

Replying to a question, Mohammad Hussain said that quota system was also based on domicile and PRC. If we would not have mentioned them, the opposition would have accused us of doing away with the quota system.