MQM-P stages power show in Malir

Vows to secure Karachi's due rights from Centre and Sindh

KARACHI:

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) held a large public meeting on the road adjoining Golden Ground in Malir's Khokhrapar area, where party convener Dr Khalid Maqbool, senior leader Dr Farooq Sattar, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, members of the coordination committee and other leaders addressed supporters.

Speaking to the crowd, Dr Siddiqui said Karachi "feeds the entire country" yet remains deprived of its basic rights. "This city sustains the luxuries of those in power and pays the salaries of Islamabad's rulers, but in return it does not receive even the facilities that smaller cities enjoy," he said. Karachi, he added, is the country's only port city but has been denied its rightful share in motorways and development.

He said MQM-P's struggle is not about demanding rights but ensuring they are delivered. "Whatever Karachi is getting today from the federal development schemes is not a favour to MQM-P lawmakers - it is the right of this city's people," he said, adding that the party is monitoring all such funds and will not allow "anyone to swallow Karachi's share".

Dr Siddiqui said the party had already sacrificed to bridge the urban-rural divide and now "it is someone else's turn". He urged workers to reject personality cults and remain loyal to the party's collective discipline. "MQM is an organisation of workers, not individuals. If anyone tries to rise above the party, it is your responsibility to remind them of their place," he said.

Dr Farooq Sattar, while addressing the rally, said the massive turnout-from Golden Ground to the opposite end of the road-showed Malir's unwavering support for MQM-P. "This crowd belongs to Malir alone. If we want, we can gather the entire city and create history," he said.

Sattar said Karachi's people had sacrificed for Pakistan since 1940, yet the descendants of those who built the country now looked only at the MQM-P for justice.