Kamal hints at quitting assemblies if Parliament passes bill to extend quota system

Remaining in the assemblies will be of no use for the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) if Parliament in the current tenure passes a bill to extend the quota system in government jobs for another 20 years.

MQM-P leader Syed Mustafa Kamal made this statement on Sunday while attending a programme to plant mangrove saplings along Hawkes Bay Road as part of the ongoing tree plantation drive of his party.

He urged the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to address the concerns of the MQM-P as its coalition partner in the Centre as it had been becoming difficult for the MQM-P’s legislatures to justify the current situation to their electorate.

The presentation of a bill to extend the job quota system for another 20 years at a time when the MQM-P had not been able to resolve the problems of its voters was compelling the party to think about the utility of remaining in the assemblies, he said.

He reiterated the resolve of his party against any extension in the job quota system. He said the quota system was responsible for the exploitation of the youth in urban Sindh on economic and academic fronts.

He said the PML-N was under an obligation to resolve the problems of the voters of the MQM-P in the urban areas of Sindh.

Kamal recalled that the devolution of powers and resources to the grassroots level was one of the key clauses of the accord signed by the MQM-P with the PML-N for forming a coalition government before the last general elections.

He told the audience that the Clause 10 of the Charter of Democracy signed by the Pakistan Peoples Party and PML-N in 2006 also called for devolution of powers to the grassroots level.

He said the two political parties now in power should help the MQM-P fulfil this task to serve the masses in the best possible manner.