KARACHI: Senior Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader and Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal has announced that the party would launch a protest movement against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led Sindh government from July 26, accusing it of failing to address the longstanding problems of urban Sindh despite receiving massive financial resources.
Addressing a workers’ convention at the party’s Bahadurabad headquarters last evening, Kamal said Pakistan’s economic stability was impossible without the revival of Karachi, adding that the country’s future depended on devolving powers and resources from the provincial level to local governments.
“We have decided to change the model of governance and ensure that powers are transferred to the people’s doorstep,” he said.
Launching a scathing attack on the PPP government in Sindh, Kamal claimed that the provincial administration had received Rs2.263 trillion in the current fiscal year and nearly Rs22 trillion over the past 18 years, but had failed to resolve the civic problems of Karachi and Hyderabad.
He said Karachi contributed the largest share of the country’s revenue but continued to suffer from a lack of clean drinking water and an effective sewerage system.
“This is not a crisis of resources but a crisis of intent and governance,” the federal minister said.
Kamal said MQM-P had joined the federal ruling coalition on the condition that meaningful reforms to the local government system and constitutional amendments would be pursued. However, he alleged that the PPP had opposed the party’s proposals during deliberations on the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments.
He said ministerial portfolios were of no importance to MQM-P when it came to protecting the rights of citizens, adding that the party would not hesitate to sacrifice cabinet positions if necessary.
Referring to the planned protest campaign, Kamal said the movement would be directed against what he described as the PPP’s 18 years of misrule in Sindh.
He also urged party workers to set aside personal differences and focus on a united political struggle, expressing hope that internal party elections would help resolve organisational disputes and strengthen the party ahead of the protest movement.
