A few days before scheduled Local Government (LG) elections, Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal let go of the past grievances as he announced merging his party into Muttahida Quami Movement – Pakistan (MQM-P).
Addressing a joint press conference in Karachi, Kamal along with Dr Farooq Sattar, MQM-P Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and others took a jibe at Pakistan People’s Pakistan (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for ruining Karachi in the past. During the important presser, all the leaders reiterated that they won’t let LG elections take place on January 15.
Kamal said that Karachi was not liberated from Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) only for PPP Chairman Asif Ali Zardari to take over and “think of it as his”.
He also claimed that Zardari wants his son—Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari— to become the Prime Minister. He said, “Bilawal ko wazir-e-azam banana hai toh Karachi ko sath le kar chalna parega” (If you want Bilawal as PM, you have to take Karachi along with you).
He said that there are no personal fights with Altaf Hussain.
MQM Revival Committee Head Farooq Sattar addressed the presser and announced rejoining MQM-P.
He said that the people of Pakistan saw hope in the MQM. “We have kept aside all our differences. This is a message for the entire country. We are presenting a united MQM.”
He said that if MQM was given a chance, the $10bn raised by Pakistan at a climate conference in Geneva, could be generated in Karachi.
He said that the MQM had been separated from its past reputation to transform into a part of intellectuals and educated people. He noted that the country was increasingly polarised, saying that Karachi should be “given one chance”.
Khalid Maqbool, meanwhile, said that all those sitting here wished to see Pakistan succeed despite the difficulties of the past five years. He also alleged that the MQM was defeated in the 2018 general elections through rigging.
Talking about the local government polls, he said that the party would contest the elections if delimitation was carried out by tonight. “But if these aren’t fixed, then we will fight for our rights.”
A day earlier, leaders of the Karachi-based party asked Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif to tell them whether or not he was responsible for the situation of the port city and Hyderabad so that the party could accordingly decide about staying with or leaving the federal government.
