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KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has threatened a massive protest movement if the federal government fails to ensure implementation of its 18-point agreement with the PPP, reminding Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that he was guarantor of the 2022 deal.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar said none of the 18 points had been implemented. He referred to that deal as the “last agreement between MQM-P and PPP”, maintaining that his party had not demanded inclusion in the Sindh government or authority over provincial resources.
MQM-P and PPP signed the agreement on March 30, 2022 before the two joined hands with other parties to topple the Imran Khan government through a vote of confidence. The issues ranged from the municipal government structure to future power-sharing formula and recruitment policy in Sindh to the local policing system.
He said PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari held “no meeting despite repeated reminders from MQM-P” on the agreement to implement a Supreme Court order regarding local governments within one month.
“This was not implemented. This entire agreement was not implemented. This has around 18 points, out of which not even one was implemented,” the MQM-P leader asserted.
Mr Sattar said: “You (Bilawal) have a direct signature on our rights and the solution of our problems, but the witness of this nikah, this relationship, is Mian Shehbaz Sharif, so he [and] the federal government — I am not using the word intervention — but they would have to get involved.
“And these 18 points would have to be implemented; otherwise, the question remains of when and how MQM-P issues a protest call,” he said, reiterating that PM Shehbaz must fulfil his responsibility. He said his “SOS call” was not just for the PPP leadership, but also for the prime minister. “You will have to get involved somewhere, or else MQM-P will begin such a protest movement that no one will be able to bring back MQM-P, the people of Karachi and those residing in other cities of Sindh,” he added.
He urged the PM to visit Karachi and resolve the matter before “public deprivation, injustice and lack of attention and confidence cross all limits and they take to the streets”. He said his party was “in contact” with the public regarding a protest movement, adding that the Centre should not interfere later on to stop them.
Referendum
At one point during his press talk, Mr Sattar said he was not addressing the PPP as much, rather “calling on the Centre to fulfil its Constitutional role”. A referendum should be held under Article 149, which allows the federal government to issue directives to provinces in certain cases.
Seeking an end to the quota system for government jobs, the MQM-P leader said that even the parity of 60:40 for rural/urban Sindh agreed under the pact was not implemented.
Noting that a joint commission on the issue of fake domiciles had not been formed, the MQM-P leader said President Zardari, or even PM Shehbaz if needed, must get involved if Bilawal failed to implement that.
‘Political blackmail’
In response to MQM-P’s press conference, Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said the “mandate of the people of Sindh, the 1973 Constitution and the province are not experimental grounds to be targeted whenever a party’s politics becomes weak”.
He reminded Mr Sattar that people of Sindh gave to the PPP a “clear mandate”, which “cannot be changed through a press conference, threat or political blackmailing”.
Mr Memon said: “If MQM-P wants to get a big share in power, the path lies through the public’s vote. Power cannot be gained through federal intervention or by dragging constitutional institutions into political disputes.”
The minister contended that MQM-P believed in the “politics of shortcuts rather than public mandate” and termed its use of “federal intervention” as evidence of the party’s “political blackmailing”. “MQM-P should not turn the resources of Karachi’s people into a means of political bargaining,” he quipped.
The PPP leader said the MQM-P’s demand to hand over Karachi’s matters to the Centre was a “heinous conspiracy against the federal structure”. He questioned why MQM-P could not have its promises for Karachi fulfilled despite being a part of the ruling coalition in the Centre.
Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2026
