KARACHI:
A large number of people turned up at Teen Talwar on Saturday afternoon to demand the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) take back its statement against establishing administrative units in Sindh.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has claimed that the statement of PTI Sindh chapter president Nadir Leghari deeply hurt the people of urban Sindh as the PTI supports independent administrative units in other parts of the country but has excluded Sindh.
“If PTI throws a brick at us, we will throw two bricks in return,” said Shagufta, a visibly charged participant at Teen Talwar. She held a yellow banner that claimed that PTI was ‘anti-Karachi’.
The protest was organised by the Defence-Clifton Residents Committee (DCRC) and the Council of Professionals. Though the protest was not organised by the MQM, it was led by its leader Khushbakht Shujaat and attended by a large number of its activists.
Addressing the protesters from a truck, Shujaat shouted: “If you don’t take back the words and if these people stand up, you will burn in their fire.”
The MQM leader, who is a former MNA of the NA-250 constituency that she lost to PTI’s Arif Alvi in the 2013 elections, said that the election manifesto of the PTI called for the formation of provinces but the so-called PTI leaders do not bother to read it and give contradictory statements. She reiterated the party demand to establish administrative units all over the country.
Sunday’s sit-in
Shouting ‘Go Imran Go’ slogans, the activists claimed the PTI’s sit-in at Mazaar-e-Quaid on Sunday will be a flop. “It will not be successful,” said a protester, Shoaib, adding that paid participants will come to the sit-in. “They are paying Rs700 for half-a-day and Rs1,500 for the full day,” he chuckled.
Mubarak bhai, a tall man, said that true Karachi-ites did not give votes to the PTI as it has no mandate in Karachi. “MQM is the only true party of this city,” he said. The workers also trashed Arif Alvi. “He [Alvi] has done no work here. He doesn’t even live here,” claimed one protester.
Mujahid Rasool of the DCRC called the PTI ‘Pit kay aye hai [It has been beaten]’ and insisted that they want Sindh to flourish. On Imran Khan’s visit to the city, he asked why he was coming. “Is Karachi your colony? You should do sit-ins at Raiwand.”
Karachi province
The protesters demanded that Karachi should be made a separate province along with the formation of other provinces. “By not giving our rights and depriving us of all facilities, they are forcing us to go for a separate province,” said Aftab Najam. Nasreen Fatime believed more provinces will bring more prosperity. Such units should be made all over the country, including Karachi, she said.
PTI’s reaction
Reacting to the sit-in at Teen Talwar, Arif Alvi also spoke to the media on Saturday. “The MQM was the first one to speak of ‘Sindh one and Sindh two’ but then took back their statement,” he said. “No one can divide Sindh.”
He claimed the MQM makes such demands whenever they have an issue with the Pakistan Peoples Party. “If the MQM has any proposal, it should bring it to the parliament,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 21st, 2014.
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Please et editor correct a factual error in the piece above.
she did not lost, the party boycotted the NA 250 re-election on the basis that MQM wanted re election on all the polling stations of the NA 250, but Election commission only held re election in 40 polling booths.
She did not Loose to Arif Alvi, She boycotted the re election.
And to make this words clear to all, she will win it again.