Road accidents not ethnic but administrative issue: Shahi Syed

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui on Saturday said the families whose members die because of consuming toxic liquor receive financial compensation, but the Sindh government does not offer any compensation to the heirs of the victims of fatal road traffic accidents (RTAs) in Karachi.

Dr Siddiqui was speaking at a press conference after he and other MQM-P leaders held a meeting with Awami National Party Sindh President Shahi Syed at the party’s Bahadurabad headquarters.

In the meeting they discussed the troubled law and order situation in the city following the torching of heavy motor vehicles in the aftermath of fatal RTAs involving dumper trucks and water tankers.

Siddiqui, who is also the federal education minister, reiterated his party’s demand from the provincial government to announce financial compensation for the families whose members have been killed due to recklessly driven vehicles. He warned that his party reserves the right of agitation if the government does not meet its demands.

He said that the relevant official agencies should keep a check on the operators of heavy vehicles. The driving qualifications of operators of dump trucks and water tankers should be checked, he added.

He lamented that police have been indifferent to this situation because they mostly remain busy checking motorcyclists on roads. He said peace in Karachi would make the entire country strong. People are left with no choice but to resort to protest when they see the law does not provide any relief to them, he added.

MQM-P senior leader and Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal cautioned against giving undue ethnic colour to the RTAs in Karachi involving dumpers and tankers, saying that this is mainly an administrative issue.

Syed condemned the road accidents in the city due to reckless driving. He said people should not violently react to such tragic incidents. “This isn’t an ethnic problem; rather, it’s an administrative issue.” He said that the show of violence by people would not resolve these problems. He urged the provincial government to resolve the civic issues of the residents of the city.