HYDERABAD: Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) chief
Dr Farooq Sattar, addressing an impressive show of his party at Akbari
Ground in Latifabad Unit-8 on Friday, demanded due share in revenues for
the urban population of Sindh, arguing that this segment had been
paying 70 per cent tax to the federal government and 85pc to the
provincial administration.
“But in lieu, the urban
populace doesn’t get even four per cent from the federal government and
eight per cent from the provincial government, respectively,” he said.
Dr
Sattar said that every district and taluka of Sindh should be given its
due share under provincial resource distribution on the same basis of
multiple-indicators’ criteria laid down for the National Finance
Commission (NFC) Award distribution. He congratulated party cadre for
holding a successful public meeting in this ground, and said that the
future belonged to the MQM-P and nobody could snatch it from the party.
The
MQM-P managed to hold a successful power show in Hyderabad after the
Aug 22, 2016 episode when it had emerged as a separate entity after
splitting from the London-based leadership of the then Muttahida Qaumi
Movement (MQM) led by Altaf Hussain. At the peak of the public meeting,
the turnout outnumbered the chairs available at the venue.
However, discipline — the hallmark of the MQM organisational structure — seemed missing.
At the fag end of Dr Sattar’s speech, people started leaving the venue to board their transport.
“A
certain image of us was created in the past and media trial was
conducted to damage our credibility. But now we are overcoming this
image problem and our credibility is fast improving,” he told the crowd.
He said that the MQM-P comprised those who inherited the legacy of
Pakistan Movement. “Damaging us is damaging Pakistan and negating the
spirit of sacrifices rendered for Pakistan. This will not strengthen
Pakistan,” he said.
He urged party workers to maintain
discipline and avoid authoritarian behaviour towards others and if this
was done, then nobody could deny MQM-P the slot of Sindh chief minister.
He said that vote bank of MQM was with the MQM-P though a few people
had created an entity for themselves. But, he said, MQM-P would remain
united and vibrant.
He urged Sindhi-speaking youths to
forge unity with their Urdu-speaking counterparts and together they
would make Sindh an educated and prosperous province. Youths of both
sides could produce exemplary unity. “Waderas [feudal lords] must
understand that the vehicle of Sindh has two wheels — Urdu-speaking and
Sindhi-speaking Sindhis — and this vehicle cannot run with one wheel.”
He
demanded powers for all mayors and local council representatives. “The
tendency of pushing urban population against the wall should be given up
and justice be done in terms of employment and admissions to
educational institutions.”
The MQM-P chief said that on
Aug 22 [2016], he felt everything stood divided but today’s public
meeting clearly showed that nothing had changed as such a big gathering
had not been organised even during the 2013 elections. He said he had
promised to come up with a clean MQM-P and “today it has come up with an
improved image”.
Senior deputy convener Amir Khan came
down hard on the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) leadership for foul-mouthing
the MQM-P. He said that those who labelled the MQM-P “a product of
china-cutting” did not look at “masters of china-cutting sitting on
their right and left”. He remarked that “all main characters of
china-cutting are in the PSP and people know the man who used to live in
a two-room house at Hali Road, today enjoys luxury of a palace”.
“You
[PSP] have descended through parachute from Dubai. But now those who
promoted you have refused to recognise you,” he said alluding to Mustafa
Kamal and Anis Qaimkhani. He hoped that this public meeting would
encourage those workers to return to the MQM-P who were coerced,
intimidated and pressured to defect to the PSP.
About
defection of Salman Mujahid to the PSP, Mr Khan said he had already been
expelled from the MQM-P. He asked the judiciary why it did not call for
arresting those who had killed 400 people on the roads and streets of
Hyderabad 30 years back.
Leader of the Opposition in the
Sindh Assembly Khwaja Izharul Hassan said that Sindh was already divided
in terms of health, water distribution and education.
He said that the powers that be must put an end to a crackdown on MQM-P representatives and office-bearers.
Karachi
Mayor Wasim Akhtar also lashed out at the PSP leadership without naming
anyone. He said that “he” (alluding to Mustafa Kamal) was in fact a
“mistake” of Altaf Hussain and today MQM-P was bearing with it. He
claimed that “they” (PSP leaders) followed wrong policies and “filled
the graveyards”.
MQM-P deputy convener Kanwar Naveed Jamil, Kamran Tessori and Hyderabad Mayor Syed Tayyab Hussain also spoke.
