Preview to elections: MQM claims record collection this Eid
Hussain said that hides had been collected in ‘record numbers’.
KARACHI:
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief, Altaf Hussain, has claimed that there has been a “significant increase” in the number of sacrificial hides collected by the party’s philanthropic arm, the Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation.
In a speech to members of the foundation in Hyderabad and Sukkur, Hussain said that hides had been collected in ‘record numbers’.
Hussain linked this to the party’s success in the next general elections, and claimed that the MQM would get more votes than it had in the past and the results ‘would shock political players’. MQM Coordination Committee member Waseem Aftab said earlier this month that the MQM was set to win the next general elections and the next prime minister would be a party nominee.
Hussain also announced in his speech that the scope of the foundation’s activities would be widened. This includes adding 100 ambulances to its existing fleet and establishing more ambulance centres in other cities. He also announced that a dialysis centre would be established in Hyderabad and if they received enough support, it would also establish a cardiac care hospital in Hyderabad that could serve people within the province. He also announced a grant of Rs2 million for an information technology institute in Hyderabad.
The Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation is led by Senator Mustafa Kamal, a former mayor of Karachi.
Establishment link
In a speech on Eid, Hussain also asked the establishment to find the ‘elements within its ranks’ that were harbouring criminals involved in kidnapping for ransom and extortion. He called on the business community to reveal those involved and their supporters.
Hussain also spoke to President Asif Ali Zardari about the ‘overall political situation of the country’ over the weekend. Hussain and the president, who is also the co-chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party, exchanged Eid greetings. They also condemned militant attacks in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa over Eid and said these were ‘blatant acts of terrorism’. According to a statement issued by the MQM, the party chiefs also called for ‘joint efforts for eliminating extremism and terrorism from the country’. President Zardari and Hussain said that their parties would continue to work together. The MQM and the Pakistan Peoples Party have been allies in the federal and Sindh governments for a large part of the past four years and MQM has backed the president through some of the major security and political crises in the country, including supporting military operations in Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa and the National Reconciliation Order case.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 30th, 2012.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief, Altaf Hussain, has claimed that there has been a “significant increase” in the number of sacrificial hides collected by the party’s philanthropic arm, the Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation.
In a speech to members of the foundation in Hyderabad and Sukkur, Hussain said that hides had been collected in ‘record numbers’.
Hussain linked this to the party’s success in the next general elections, and claimed that the MQM would get more votes than it had in the past and the results ‘would shock political players’. MQM Coordination Committee member Waseem Aftab said earlier this month that the MQM was set to win the next general elections and the next prime minister would be a party nominee.
Hussain also announced in his speech that the scope of the foundation’s activities would be widened. This includes adding 100 ambulances to its existing fleet and establishing more ambulance centres in other cities. He also announced that a dialysis centre would be established in Hyderabad and if they received enough support, it would also establish a cardiac care hospital in Hyderabad that could serve people within the province. He also announced a grant of Rs2 million for an information technology institute in Hyderabad.
The Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation is led by Senator Mustafa Kamal, a former mayor of Karachi.
Establishment link
In a speech on Eid, Hussain also asked the establishment to find the ‘elements within its ranks’ that were harbouring criminals involved in kidnapping for ransom and extortion. He called on the business community to reveal those involved and their supporters.
Hussain also spoke to President Asif Ali Zardari about the ‘overall political situation of the country’ over the weekend. Hussain and the president, who is also the co-chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party, exchanged Eid greetings. They also condemned militant attacks in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa over Eid and said these were ‘blatant acts of terrorism’. According to a statement issued by the MQM, the party chiefs also called for ‘joint efforts for eliminating extremism and terrorism from the country’. President Zardari and Hussain said that their parties would continue to work together. The MQM and the Pakistan Peoples Party have been allies in the federal and Sindh governments for a large part of the past four years and MQM has backed the president through some of the major security and political crises in the country, including supporting military operations in Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa and the National Reconciliation Order case.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 30th, 2012.