The Jamaat-e-Islami’s sit-in against the allegedly controversial local government bill continued outside the Sindh Assembly for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday despite rain and cold winds, while a large number of Pashtun community members attended the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) protest in the Banaras neighbourhood.
JI’s warning
Representatives of the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), religious minorities and trade organisations visited the JI’s sit-in to express solidarity with the protesters and support their demands. The PSP delegation was led by Shabir Qaimkhani and Arshad Vohra, while Younous Sohan Advocate led the minorities’ delegation.
JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on the occasion warned the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership against painting the Jamaat’s rights movement in ethnic colours and terming it a Sindhi-Mohajir issue.
“The JI has been struggling for the people of Karachi no matter which area of the city they belong to. Karachi is a mini-Pakistan. People hailing from all regions dwell in this city.”
Rehman said JI chief Sirajul Haq will would also visit the sit-in, adding that the party has planned to march on the Chief Minister House as well.
He demanded that the government repeal the allegedly black law and return the powers it had taken away from the LG set-up in 2012 and 2013.
Rehman said that the JI wanted the provincial government to spend funds in the interior areas of the province, but it did not want the PPP to discriminate against Karachi and Karachiites.
He also lambasted the PTI and the MQM-P for what he called “their dual standards and their role in accepting flawed results of the census” conducted in 2017.
Sindh the JI has set up a temporary camp office of its Public Aid Committee on the site of the sit-in, many people from across the city visited to share their ordeals. A Mushaira was also held there to highlight the issues of Karachi.
The PSP’s Qaimkhani said the PPP had been ruling Karachi for over 14 years but it had not delivered; instead, it had ruined the city.
Former deputy mayor Arshad Vohra said the purpose of the visit was not politics but to pay tribute to the JI and the protesters.
He added that Karachi paid Rs160 billion to the Centre, which was sufficient to build a mass transit project every year.
Pashtuns’ role
A large number of Pashtun workers and residents from District West attended the MQM-P’s protest against the recently passed Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill. The protest was held at Bacha Khan Chowk in Banaras.
MQM-Pakistan leaders, including Kunwar Naveed Jamil, Aslam Afridi, Shakeel Ahmed and Sultan Ahmed, said the party will continue its struggle against every move made by the PPP to allegedly undermine the powers and resources of the local bodies.
They appreciated the vital role of Karachi’s Pashtuns in the city’s development.