KARACHI: A senior leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan on Saturday hinted at parting ways with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government at the centre if its demands with regard to the population census were not fulfilled.

“Census is our red line and this red line is being crossed,” senior MQM-P leader Khawja Izharul Hasan said, maintaining that he personally believed that his party should take its own path if the demands were not accepted.

However, he said that the party’s coordination committee would take a decision on quitting the PDM-led coalition government after the census.

Khawaja Izhar said that the MQM-P would not be responsible if the judiciary ran the country or martial law was imposed in the wake of the ongoing political crisis.

He said that former prime minister Imran Khan had not fulfilled any of his promises.

The deputy convener of the coordination committee was addressing the participants of an Iftar dinner organised for the public at Osama Family Park in Mehmoodabad Town.

Members of the coordination committee, party MPAs, Administrator DMC-East Syed Shakeel Ahmed Town also attended the Iftar dinner.

He said that the purpose for which the MQM-P was split was destroyed as the party benefited from the party’s split was today standing against the state itself.

The MQM-P leader said that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, which was party’s ally in the previous government, kept allying with every party through which MQM-P could be defeated in Karachi.

“The alliance by PTI was malicious,” he said, adding that as an ally, every time a delegation of new people would come and give false assurances.

Khawaja Izhar said that he had no hope from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party. “There was a hope from Imran Khan, but were given only false promises,” he added.

He said that the MQM-P was the party of poor middle class and added that the party had boycotted the local government elections because they thought that no ‘wadera’ could represent the poor class.

He said that as always, the party would send representatives to the elected houses from the grassroots level.

Separately, MQM-P Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that Karachi would never accept fake and contrived census.

Addressing the participants of an Iftar dinner at Burns Road, he said that country’s problems would be solved without giving rights to the heirs of Pakistan. “It is country’s duty and our right to be counted correctly in the census,” he added.

Dr Siddiqui said that Karachi gave over 70 per cent revenue and added that the country would prosper if the city’s problems were solved.

He said that the MQM-P believed that all nationalities had responsibility of protecting the ideology of Pakistan.

“When you put the oppressed against the wall, their voice will be raised,” he added.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2023