MQM-P announces ‘human rights’ rally
Referring to the MQM founder Altaf Hussain’s anti-Pakistan speech of August 22, Sattar said the MQM-Pakistan now wanted to proceed towards August 23, when the MQM-Pakistan dissociated itself from its London-based founder and party office in the UK. PHOTO: INP
After postponing twice a rally aimed to highlight the alleged violations of human rights pertaining to development and civic facilities, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) will now hold its protest in Hyderabad on October 10.
MQM-P deputy convener and former Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar told the media in Hyderabad on Friday that the party's 'Shehri Huqooq' rally will be a protest for human rights and not a politically motivated event.
The rally will start from Heerabad area. It will culminate after moving for a few kilometres through some densely populated parts of city at Kohinoor Chowk, where the stage will be set for speeches of the political leaders.
Akhtar said the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has been ruling Sindh since the 1970s and the exploitation of people has continued since then. He alleged that government jobs were being sold with people possessing fake urban domiciles being employed against those vacancies. He claimed that around four million fake domiciles have been made by the incumbent provincial government. "Young unemployed people in urban areas are compelled to take jobs like delivery boys [to make their both ends meet]."
He reiterated that despite being the highest tax paying city, Karachi has remained deprived of development. He said MQM-P's leaders would have still felt content if the tax money of Karachi and other urban centres was spent on Larkana, Sehwan and other rural towns of Sindh instead of being allegedly embezzled by the PPP's provincial government.
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"Wheat is expensive in Sindh in comparison to Punjab," he noted. Although he credited Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) federal government, for which MQM-P is a coalition partner, for honouring its promises for Karachi's development, he bemoaned that the PPP-led Sindh government was taking no interest in the Karachi Package.
Akhtar asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to play his constitutional role to stop PPP's alleged excesses in Sindh. He contended that the 18th Constitutional Amendment should not be taken for granted to allow creation of a state within a state.
The MQM-P leader criticized Hyderabad Electric Supply Company for the power outages, overbilling and detection bills. He also urged the Centre to expedite the federal university's project in Hyderabad.
"The solution to the myriads of problems being confronted by the people of Sindh is bringing an end to the PPP's rule in the province," said MQM-P leader Khuwaja Izharul Hassan while addressing the women workers at a separate event on Friday. He vowed that the MQM-P will organise a historic protest against the PPP government in Hyderabad.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 9th, 2021.