MQM-P says would reopen Karachi if PM orders

KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Convener, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, on Tuesday said that if imposing the lockdown is so necessary and coronavirus rate in Karachi has reached a worrying stage, the federal and provincial governments should declare Karachi and Hyderabad ‘calamity hit’ immediately and waive all taxes on the residents and traders.

He was addressing a press conference at the party’s temporary headquarters after a delegation of various traders’ bodies of the city met him. He said the prime minister says the lockdown is not in the interest of the country, but the Sindh government believes imposition of lockdown would benefit Pakistan. “If the prime minister announces today, tomorrow the businesses will open in Karachi.”

Siddiqui said that the MQM-P supported all the demands of traders and was ready to open markets with them if they want. “When the shutters of shops open in Karachi, then Sindh and Pakistan run,” he said.

Siddiqui said that Karachi itself, not the federal or provincial government, will decide what do to with its affairs. “It is a fact that the coronavirus’ fourth wave is dangerous and overcrowding could cause it to spread, so shops and businesses should be open for 24 hours instead of a few hours or hours,” he said. “When the decision to lockdown is taken, there is a celebration in the Chief Minister’s House,” he alleged. “Officers from interior Sindh got posted by bribes to higher officials during the lockdown, plunder, and depart after spending the season.” He said it was decided to impose a fine for violating the lockdown, but the trades will not accept it. “Shouldn't the Governor's rule be implemented in the situation created by the biased government of Sindh? If not, why is there a provision for Governor's rule in the Constitution?,” the MQM-P leader asked. Jamil Paracha, a noted trader leader, said the city’s traders are not begging from the Sindh government. “We are talking about opening our own businesses.”