All cities, not just Karachi, should generate revenue, says Khalid Maqbool

The people of Karachi have not signed a contract that makes only them liable to pay taxes. All the cities of Pakistan should equally contribute to revenue generation for the country.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said this on Saturday while speaking at a lawyers convention of the MQM-P Legal Aid Committee held under the title 'Justice for All’.

He said that feudal lords could not restore democracy in Pakistan. A society that does not cower before the oppressors is the best society, he added.

He lauded the political struggle carried out by the lawyer community, and stated that people could sleep without worries if our courts worked freely.

In a weak society, the powerful get justice and the poor suffer, he said, adding that in a good society, everyone has access to justice.

MQM-P Deputy Convener Khawaja Izharul Hassan said that there were heaps of issues regarding our judicial system even today, and appeals of citizens were not being heard.

He lamented that people had been coming to courts for years to get justice but the most important cases were not being heard. The decision of the fake domicile case was being awaited, Hassan said as he praised the Legal Aid Committee of the MQM-P for standing by oppressed people without charging any fee.

Member of the MQM-P Coordination Committee and former federal minister Barrister Farogh Naseem said that the title of the event was ‘Justice for All’ but Sindh had been divided into the urban and rural Sindh. He asked whether such a division was justice.

He pointed out that there were urban and rural areas in the rest of the provinces of the country but they had no quota system for their urban areas. He termed the quota system in Sindh not legal as well as not according to the teachings of Islam.

Naseem maintained that the population of Karachi was 30 million but under a well-thought-out conspiracy, it was understated in the census so that less resources could be allocated for its people.

“Sindh is in a very bad condition. We want to improve the situation in Sindh as well as in Karachi and only the MQM-Pakistan can control this situation,” he said.

He remarked that the people of all nationalities were brothers and they should be considered Pakistanis and provided with all the facilities.

Karachi Bar Association President Aamir Saleem said the Karachi Bar had always strived for justice, He lamented that laws were passed but they were not implemented.