MQM-Pakistan pursuing agenda of Altaf: PPP

Ruling party in Sindh issues response to MQM’s ‘white paper’

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) - Pakistan is pursuing the hidden agenda of MQM-London and its chief, Altaf Hussain, said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) ministers in a rejoinder to the former’s ‘white paper’.

In the rejoinder issued on Friday, provincial ministers, including Jam Khan Shoro, Nasir Shah, Imdad Pitafi and Syed Sardar Shah, said that through its ‘so-called white paper’, MQM has once again tried to revive the politics of hatred on linguistic grounds in the province. They stated that the ‘hidden agenda’ behind this move is to complete the ‘mission of MQM-London’, which founded the ‘politics of fear and tyranny’ in the province, particularly Karachi.



“Since MQM-Pakistan leadership happens to be a ‘stopgap arrangement’ of MQM-London, therefore they are trying to revive the legacy of their leader,” the ministers said. “The people of Karachi are well-educated, enlightened and sensible and understand very well that who had hijacked them in the name of ‘Muhajir politics’ and who destroyed their youngsters under absurd slogans.” They added that the MQM, foreseeing its defeat and rejection in the forthcoming general elections, is trying to misguide the people by quoting wrong and baseless numbers.

Sharing details, they said the Sindh government implements the quota system in its true letter and spirit on rural and urban basis. However, they added, the MQM-Pakistan wants the quota system to be implemented on linguistic basis, which is impossible. “PPP does not believe in discrimination on any ground,” said the statement.



“The composition of Sindh cabinet is the manifestation of the PPP’s firm belief in equality and unity,” said the rejoinder. “The Sindh cabinet has true representation of women [and people from] rural [and] urban [areas as well as] people of different languages and minorities. The Sindh cabinet members hail from different areas of the province, speak different languages and believe in different faiths – but they are our strength and we believe in them.”

‘Largest land-grabbing organisation’

The ministers said that with the help of law enforcement agencies, the Sindh government has bulldozed 300 offices of MQM constructed on amenity plots.



“The MQM has been the largest land-grabbing organisation in the city,” they said. “The mayor of Karachi, instead of wasting his time in the press conference, should have issued a white paper against ghost employees of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, the land-grabbing on amenity plots, China-cutting and criminal acts of Baber Ghori, Hammad Siddiqui, Anwar Bhaijan and various others who belong to twin-MQMs. He should have issued a separate white paper against Wasay Jalil and Chunu Bhai. But he targeted the Sindh government because they are his ‘big bosses and brothers’.

Inequitable distribution of resources

Talking about the distribution of resources, the ministers said that MQM-Pakistan’s claims are wrong. The local government has a Rs37-billion development budget, out of which 65% of the funds are being utilised in Karachi and the remaining in the rest of Sindh, they claimed.