Let Karachiites take decisions about metropolis: Siddiqui

MQM-P leader vows to stand by traders in these troubled times

KARACHI:

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that decisions for the city must be taken by the people of Karachi, not the federal or provincial government.

Addressing a press conference at a park adjacent to MQM-P's centre in Bahadurabad, along with business leaders, he said that all those present were standing by the people of Karachi who, he claimed, were suffering in misery.

"Bigoted rulers from Dadu cannot decide the fate of Karachi. The class that exists in the city today is the most patriotic and has been sacrificing for 70 years."

Read More: MQM-P calls for governor’s rule in Sindh

He said that if the implementation of lockdown was inevitable and the spread of coronavirus in Karachi, Hyderabad had reached 30 per cent, then Karachi and Hyderabad should be declared disaster areas immediately.

"All taxes and utility bills in these cities should be waived off and collected in easy installments." He also suggested interest-free loans for small and big traders. He said that MQM-P stood by the business community. "We are with the traders whatever they decide," Siddiqui said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2021.