One million people will march for city's uplift on May 14: Mustafa Kamal

PSP holds workers convention, announces second phase of protests for Karachi civic issues

KARACHI: After staging an 18-day sit-in, Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) Chairperson Mustafa Kamal announced a million-people march as the second phase of his campaign for the uplift of the city.

Kamal announced his next course of action on Sunday while addressing a general workers convention at Karachi Press Club where he, along with his party, had been staging a sit-in since April 6. The party had presented 16 demands regarding Karachi's civic issues.

We are not ending our protest, assured Kamal. We are taking it into another phase where we will focus on door-to-door campaigns and later I will call upon the people of Karachi on May 14 to join me on any of the main thoroughfares of the city to march towards the residence of the rulers of the province, he claimed.

He added that he expects more than one million people to march alongside him to get their basic rights from these rulers. "On May 14, we, along with the people of Karachi, will take back the rights of the people,  thus the rulers should think about serving the people before the hands of people reaches the neck of rulers," he warned.



The PSP chairperson earlier said the protest his party has been staging was unlike any held by other political parties. He spoke about how the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder would protest over petty issues but never for the rights of the people of the city.

He added that we have set a new trend of raising our voices for people who have been deprived of their rights and now every other party, whether MQM, Jamaat-e-Islami or Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, are all are following the PSP.

"I congratulate every one of you because all the political parties are following the policy and manifesto of our party and we have made these points as part of our policy ever since the inception of the PSP," said Kamal.

Criticising the MQM, he said that MQM-Pakistan also held a rally but it was only for their survival and to check their level of popularity. He claimed that the Karachi mayor is their 'enemy number one', yet they are still demanding rights for him. "The MQM-Pakistan rally held today was not for the people of Karachi but for their own survival," said Kamal.



He added that for the past 19 days, all the leaders of the PSP, including him and Anis Kaimkhani, spent their nights and days here and people came to meet them and tell them their problems. We are fighting for the future of the citizens, he said, adding there is water scarcity, electricity load-shedding and lack of transport facilities but the rulers of the province are not concerned about this. Kamal added that corruption in the province is what these rulers like the most and in Sindh, there are a hundred cases like the Panama Papers every day.

He announced they will be joined by every citizen for their cause regardless of any discrimination. "On this day, we are not wrapping up our protest but successfully taking it a step ahead," he told participants of the event. We have successfully spread our message to the people of Karachi; wait for my call for May 14 - the day when the citizens of Karachi will snatch their rights from the rulers, he said. Kamal asked the PSP workers to march towards their party office, Pakistan House, in a rally and start working for the next phase of their protest.

Earlier, before Kamal took to the stage, PSP President Kaimkhani said that people who know them are aware that he and Kamal would never fool the people and are willing to sacrifice everything for them. He urged the people to join PSP and strengthen their cause.



Kaimkhani also said that they could have asked their workers, who numbered in the thousands, to take to the streets and sabotage the system, but they are not like those who harm people. "I could have asked the workers to sabotage the city in a few hours but I never wanted to promote violence," added Kamal.

For the past three decades, people voted for one party that claimed to be the guardian of the city but it was proven wrong as the party never came out for the rights of the city, said Kaimkhani. People have come to their senses and now will choose leaders for their future, he told the participants.