Will rid Karachi of ‘Mustaqil Qaumi Museebat’

KARACHI: The Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, rebranded the MQM as “Mustaqil Qaumi Museebat” for doing nothing for the development of Karachi and indulging in politics of hatred, violence, and bloodshed by depriving the city’s youth of books and turning them into violent extortionists.

Bilawal was addressing a big gathering of the party in Liaquatabad on Sunday. It was after 44 years that the PPP had organized a major political show in the city’s District Central, considered a stronghold of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

The PPP chairman said the former followers and companions of the MQM's founder Altaf Hussain didn’t deserve the mandate of the people ofKarachi as they did nothing for the city.“The political system that spawned Altaf Hussian was flawed, and so are his companions,” he said. Bilawal harshly criticized the MQM, PTI, and PML-N, saying none of them were sincere with the people of Karachi and they wanted to hijack the electoral mandate of the city with the revival of peace.

The chairman of the Pakistan People's Party described Imran Khan and Altaf Hussain as two sides of the same coin, saying “one would give calls for strikes, while the other is used to staging sit-ins and taking U-turns." Bilawal castigated the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan, saying “We don’t need another Altaf Hussain in the form of Imran Khan”. He said the PTI is attempting to do politics by sowing the seeds of hatred. "While one managed the affairs of Karachi from London, the other is daydreaming to run Karachi from Bani Gala”, Bilawal said while referring to the Islamabad residence of the PTI chairman. He said those claiming to create a new Pakistan could not fool the nation any more, as they miserably failed to build a new Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the last five years.

The PPP chairman pledged to turn around the destiny of Karachi and to revive its magnificence if the people overwhelmingly voted for the PPP in the forthcoming general elections. Addressing the rally, he said “I’m also the son of Karachi, your success is my success, and your grief is my grief." Exhorting the people to join the PPP, he said "Come and join the People's Party and get involved in the politics of federalism." He also persuaded the youth "to lead the city and participate in its development. I need your support, your votes, and your power. If you stand by me, I’ll turn around the destiny of the people of Karachi." He pledged to promote peace, art and culture in the megapolis.

Bilawal also committed to help provide free and quality facilities of education and health, besides promising to revive industries and provide employment. He said he would ensure ample water supply to Karachi to quench the thirst of its people. “I will be most pleased if Karachi makes progress as I know that development of Karachi means development of Pakistan,” he said. “Everyone is now out to hijack the mandate of Karachi with the restoration of peace,” he said.

Addressing the PTI chief, Bilawal said “when the students of the APS (Army Public School) Peshawar were being martyred, you were present at the Aabpara, acting and reacting to the umpire's finger.” The PPP chairman was referring to the 2014 sit-in of the PTI in Islamabad. He said the PTI’s government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa failed to build a government-run hospital and university during its tenure. “They failed to build a new Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, so how would they create a new Pakistan,” he said. “You used to make tall claims against corruption, but the ministers you removed level serious allegations of corruption against your chief minister,” he said. The PPP chairman appealed to the people of Karachi not to let the city's mandate be hijacked again, saying “if it happens, then you will have to undergo the same agony that your earlier earlier generations sustained.”

Castigating the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), he said the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif failed to keep up the promises made to the people of Karachi. He said the PML-N government failed to build the promised Green Line Rapid bus project in Karachi. He said the PML-N’s government announced to carry out development projects worth Rs1,500 million across Sindh. “Instead, they deprived the people of Sindh of electricity,” he said.

He said the PML-N government has recently acted in sheer vengeance against the people of Karachi by curtailing the gas supply to the K Electric, causing hours-long power loadshedding in the city. “The prime minister and Shahbaz Sharif visited Karachi for the sake of politics and in just one sitting they resolved the issue of gas supply. If the issue was so simple, then why the people were subjected to extensive loadshedding,” he said. “Those now talking about building Karachi as New York, should first go and clean the sewers of Gawalmindi,” he said. Addressing, Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal said “you would have been honoured if you had given respect to the mandate of the people of Karachi and cared for the Constitution and Parliament.” He said Nawaz Sharif would no more be honoured by the people of Karachi through their votes.

He said the PPP’s government, on the other hand, kept on developing Karachi even when it had no mandate from the city. Bilawal said if the PPP emerges victorious in Karachi in the forthcoming general elections then nobody would interfere with the city's development. He said the PPP government carried out targeted operation to restore peace in the city by taking indiscriminate action against criminal gangs and terrorists. “When others bowed before the terrorists, the PPP remained steadfast against them."

The PPP chairman said the city's local government leadership, which belongs to the MQM, is not sincere with the people of Karachi as they didn’t allow the newly-established Sindh Solid Waste Management Board to function and remove garbage from the city. “Their politics is based on trash and if there is no garbage their politics will be finished,” he said. Bilawal said the Mayor of Karachi should be held accountable for the billions of rupees given to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation by the Sindh government and despite that the city remains filthy and its roads dilapidated. “Whenever the question is raised about where the billions of rupees have gone, the mayor starts raising hue and cry over lack of municipal powers,” he said. Referring to the neglected civic issues of sanitation, transportation, water availability, and employment opportunities, Bilawal said the PPP can resolve them if the people vote for them.

Calling to address the issue of missing persons at the earliest, the PPP chairman said actions taken for maintenance of law and order should not violate the fundamental human rights of people. He said the PPP stands by with every family whose members have gone missing. “For the sake of maintaining peace on a lasting basis, the police and judiciary must be strengthened,” he said.

Earlier, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said the PPP’s government re-established peace in Karachi through targeted operation that led to the successful holding of the Pakistan Super League final. Criticising the federal government's budget, Murad said it has no provision for the development of Karachi. “It only contains Rs five billion as against their announcement of Rs25 billion special development package for the city,” he said.