KARACHI, Sept 24: Muttahida Qaumi Movement Chief Altaf Hussain has declared that his party will focus on providing water to the people of remote areas and urban settlements which were being ignored by the exploitative rule of the government, dominated by the feudals and military rulers.

Addressing election meetings of the MQM simultaneously in Mahmoodabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Pak Colony via telephone on Monday, Hussain also dispelled the impression that his party was aligning with the Sindhis against Punjabis and Pakhtoons.

He declared that when Sindh gets its rights, then all Punjabis, Pakhtoons and others will also get equal rights as its citizen.

Addressing the election meeting in which a large number of all nationalities participated, Hussain said such misleading propaganda was being churned out by those who want to divide the people and turn them against each other, as they did in the past through agent provocateurs.

He warned that the Establishment was again trying to create a bloody wedge between the people.

Referring to the exploitative rule of past regimes, the MQM chief pointed to water shortage in the remote ares of Sindh, and the complaints he received from various people. He regretted that neither civilian nor the military regime had paid proper attention to their needs.

He directed the MQM candidates to give top priority to providing water to the needy after being elected.

He also castigated the government for neglecting the water requirements of the city, and said that people were suffering owing to illegal hydrants operating under the law enforcement agencies. He demanded that a survey of such hydrants be carried out by those who are engaged in the accountability of others.

He hoped that if the elections were held in a free, fair and transparent manner, then the MQM would form a government in Sindh.

Altaf Hussain said that the Establishment and its agencies should work in accordance with the constitution and should not meddle in the affairs of the MQM or any other political party.

He called upon the state machinery to desist from conspiring against his party.

Hussain warned the Establishment against attempts to deny Sindh its rights and due share. He also lashed out at religious parties, who he said had claimed that MQM’s support graph had gone down. He said that large, enthusiastic turnouts in different places of the city negated their claim.

He said that the Establishment had gone all out to wipe out Urdu-speaking people through operations and extra-judicial killings. But today, even non-Urdu-speaking people had joined the MQM’s struggle against the oppressive forces and for their rights.

The MQM chief also dilated on the various issues confronting the people, especially of Karachi and Sindh, besides criticizing the anti-people economic measures being taken by the government.

The problem of rising tariffs of utilities, unemployment and the deteriorating educational standards, transport system etc also figured in the meeting.

Addressing various election meetings in the city, deputy convener of the MQM Coordination Committee Dr Farooq Sattar and MQM candidate Mohammad Shamim Siddiqui claimed that others were not sincere in their pledge to serve the people, and said the track record of the MQM proved that it had always worked to serve the common man.

Meanwhile, former Haq Parast parliamentarians have alleged that the city government had failed to address the common man’s problems, owing to which, people were facing hardships.