‘MQM-P unhappy with PPP but won’t break alliance for now’

Waseem Akhtar has ruled out the possibility of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) forming an alliance with the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H) or Farooq Sattar.

During an interview with The News, the MQM-P deputy convener and former Karachi mayor said an alliance is possible only if Sattar and the PSP and MQM-H leaders join Muttahida as workers, because they will not be accepted as leaders. “We don’t need leaders but honest and loyal workers.”

Akhtar also referred to the MQM-P’s dissatisfaction over their alliance with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which he said has taken no tangible step to implement the agreement reached between the two parties before the no-confidence vote against the then prime minister Imran Khan.

Criticising the PPP, he said the party’s government in Sindh does not have the mandate to alter the delimitation of union councils (UCs) in urban areas. “On the one hand the PPP started delimitation and made dozens of UCs in Karachi where only 20,000 people live, while on the other, the UCs of the areas where the MQM-P is dominant has over 90,000 people. The reason behind the present delimitation is to snatch the city’s mandate.”

Akhtar claimed that the PPP intends to exploit the situation and get the maximum number of UC councillors and chairmen elected. “Only the Election Commission of Pakistan can delimit territorial constituencies for polls for the national and provincial assemblies, and local governments.”

However, he pointed out, this issue is not more important than the 2017 national census in which Karachi’s population has been shown lesser than it actually is. He lamented that if these issues are not addressed, only dummy mayors will be elected. “We aren’t running away from elections, but we want free and fair polls,” he stressed, explaining that the MQM-P wants mayors with full administrative and financial powers.

He revealed that during the latest steering committee meeting, almost all the parties of the province agreed on resolving the delimitation issue before the LG elections. “We want electoral reforms, transparent polls and empowered mayors.”

Akhtar said parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami accuse the MQM-P of postponing the LG elections, but the JI has no political worth in the city apart from collecting charity and displaying huge banners at roundabouts and thoroughfares. He called the JI “the party of roundabouts”.

Replying to a question, he said that even after the 18th amendment, the provincial government is not ready to share powers, as no step has been taken toward the decentralisation of powers and the strengthening of LGs, so it is clear that mayors without powers cannot launch mega projects.

“The MQM-P has been pushing for comprehensive legislation in the national and provincial assemblies for LGs, but politicians with a feudal mindset are a hurdle to our efforts to turn cities like Karachi into planned and developed urban centres.”

Regarding the MQM-P’s alliance with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), he said he and other leaders of his party met the then PM on several occasions and repeatedly requested him to resolve the problems plaguing the city but to no avail.

“During his 1,332-day tenure as Pakistan’s PM, Khan never stayed for 24 hours in the city on the advice of his ‘spiritual leader’, who told him not to stay near the sea.” Akhtar said the coalition was not in favour of the MQM-P because the PTI was not interested in addressing the issues being faced by the people of the city. “We were promised that the MQM-P’s offices would be reopened, but it wasn’t in line with the PTI government’s political benefit.”

He said the MQM-P is forced to form alliances with ruling parties because mega cities’ problems cannot be addressed without powers. “Our electorate expects us to resolve their issues, but it’s not possible to meet their expectations without staying in the government.”

He explained that his party has no other option but to keep striving for betterment within the political system. “Our alliances and agreements with other parties are aimed at getting something for the people of Karachi.”

The former mayor said the MQM-P inks pacts even with rival parties but none of them honour the agreements and promises. “Now we have reached the conclusion that no political leadership other than the MQM-P will ever prioritise Karachi and its people.”

As regards the agreement between the PPP and the MQM-P that was reached in March, ahead of the ouster of Khan’s government, Akhtar lamented that it was yet to be implemented. He clarified that even though the MQM-P is dissatisfied with the ruling coalition, it will not quit the alliance for the time being, but if the agreement is not implemented, his party’s coordination committee will be free to decide the future course of action.

“The PPP has been ruling the province for the past 14 years, but it has no vision to build cities, develop infrastructure and facilitate the people. The party lacks willpower.” Regarding the deteriorating law and order situation in the city, he said the provincial government should recruit local youth in the police department under the supervision of the mayor. Non-locals are not familiar with the residents and every nook and cranny of the city, he added.

“They simply can’t handle the criminals. Moreover, there’s a need to train the cops in line with international standards, while recruitment on political basis should be discouraged.”

Rejecting the possibility of uniting with the MQM-London, Akhtar said the MQM-P is now a separate political party, so it has no relation with the leaders of the London faction. “The London group is enjoying the situation, while we’ve been facing court cases.” He claimed that there had been some criminals who had been using the MQM as a shelter, and even though now those criminals had joined other parties, including the PSP, the burden of their crimes had fallen on the MQM-P.