ISLAMABAD, Sept 9: Kanwar Khalid Yunus, a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) lawmaker, on Friday raised the question of additional resources from the federal and provincial governments for Karachi to cater to the utility service needs of migrants from other provinces and areas of the country. In a supplementary question during question hour in the National Assembly, Mr Yunus asked the minister for economic affairs to tell the house whether the federal government appreciated the fact that Karachi was bearing “a great burden of migrants from other provinces” and that its utility services had come under strain.

But Ms Hina Rabbani Khar, the minister of state for economic division, argued against the proposal saying the matter did not merit consideration as migrants constituted only 4.3 per cent of Karachi’s population.