HYDERABAD: Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s senior deputy convener Amir Khan has said that his party will hold ‘Shehri Haqooq’ rally on July 31 in the city against “Pakistan Peoples Party government’s excesses in Sindh”.

He also cautioned Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government at the centre that “we may reconsider our allegiance with PTI if it did not fulfil its promises with the MQM-P.”

Mr Khan was addressing a press conference at his party’s office here on Saturday. The party’s district organiser Zafar Siddiqui, MNAs Salahuddin and Sabir Kaimkhani; MPAs Rashid Khilji and Nadeem Siddiqui, and other leaders were also present.

He asked fellow party workers to follow all standard operating procedures (SOPs) relating to Covid-19 while participating in the planned rally.

Also hints at quitting PTI govt if promises not fulfilled

He said: “The rally is being organised to expose PPP government’s injustices against urban population of Sindh. The provincial government collects Rs300bn and federal government Rs900bn from urban centres yet the cities have been facing destruction. Sindh’s inept and corrupt government has destroyed urban centres. The PPP government is not even serving its electoral constituencies”.

He said MQM-P’s mayors were criticised on every Eidul Azha for four years for insanitation but situation remained unchanged even after appointment of administrators. Despite having resources and government’s backing to its handpicked administrators, cities were rotting and stinking on the Eid days.

Amir Khan repeated the party’s claim that PPP had formed its government with fake majority, arguing that the population census [in Sindh] was non-transparent.

Hesco’s performance

The MQM-P leader urged the federal government to pay serious attention to the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) and noted that elected representatives’ concerns were not being addressed in the relevant standing committees.

“Tabish Gauhar is running the entire show,” he said. Mr Khan ridiculed the Rs750,000 compensation announced for the deceased victims of the recent PMT fire incident and demanded that it should be Rs4m, paid by Hesco for its employee’s death in such incidents.

He said despite persuasion by Muttahida’s representatives and traders, defective transformers were not replaced. Rejecting suspension of lower-grade employees, he demanded action against senior-level officers and registration of cases against them, if need be.

Independence Day

Amir Khan announced that the MQM-P would celebrate August as the ‘Month of Azadi’. Pakistani flags would be unfurled at 600 places in Karachi alone to show that urban population was patriotic, he said, adding that it would also be a clear message to “proponents of Sindhudesh”.

Regarding issue of administrator for Karachi, he said his party did not have any problem with Murtaza Wahab but an administrator should be a neutral technocrat with good reputation and had to be appointed in consultation with opposition. “Murtaza Wahab will be compelled to follow PPP’s directives and indulge in corruption,” he remarked.

He urged the PPP to announce holding of LG polls forthwith. He regretted that democratic regimes never held LG elections. The previous LG polls were held under a Supreme Court order, he recalled.

In reply to a question, Mr Khan said that MQM-P’s share in the federal coalition was marginal ... it was not part of the government’s policymaking body.

MQM-P’s position in coalition

Answering another question, Amir Khan said his party was not under pressure in the coalition. “But if issues can be resolved with MQM-P quitting the government, we won’t take a minute to leave. We think at least we raise voice at that forum despite having a minor share in the cabinet,” he said.

He agreed with a questioner that promises were there but they are not given effect. “Perhaps we can’t wait any more, too. We don’t doubt intentions of PTI but we don’t see progress on works. PTI has announced Rs10bn for Karachi and Rs5bn for Hyderabad in the 2021-22 budget and little progress is seen. If issues are not resolved after this budget, then we may be forced to take a decision [whether to stay on as ally],” he said.

He said the MQM-P had accepted the Census 2017 results despite reservations after seeing that the demand for 5pc sample audit was not being met by the federal government on the ground that it did not have funds. “Our party has demanded new census before the 2023 polls and PTI has allocated funds for the process; and MQM-P has been assured that it would be held before the 2023 general elections amidst new delimitations,” he said.

PPP’s response

PPP Hyderabad district information secretary Ahsan Abro sarcastically said the MQM-P would be staging the July 31 rally even after “controlling” people politically, economically and financially for four decades and despite its claims of representing its electorate but always preferring personal gains.

In his rejoinder to the MQM-P’s press conference, he alleged that Kanwar Naveed Jamil, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Amir Khan accumulated assets worth trillions. These “nafees log (decent gentlemen)” had joined coalition governments to protect their own interests. “Even today, MQM-P complains against PTI government but never quits it. MQM is clamouring about rights of people ahead of LG polls while it did nothing for Hyderabad and Karachi despite having two cities’ mandate.”

Reacting to Mr Abro’s statement, MQM-P’s Naeem Yusufzai said his party’s announcement about the rally had baffled PPP and that was why its activists were resorting to mudslinging.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2021