People of Karachi not to accept artificial leadership, says Khalid Maqbool

The people of Karachi will not accept any artificial leadership and feudal mindset that prevails in traditional politics of the country.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said this on Friday while addressing a press conference at the Bagh-e-Jinnah near the Mazar-e-Quaid where the party plans to hold a major public meeting today (Saturday).

He said that if Karachi developed, the country would not need any foreign help. The rights, identity and existence of the citizens of Karachi should be recognised and whole-heartedly accepted, he added.

He said that Karachi was the first capital of Pakistan and it was still the ideological capital of the country. He added that despite the centre of government being moved from the city, it was still the economic and industrial hub of the country.

Dr Siddiqui called for the youth to join the MQM-P’s struggle for their rights. “The MQM-Pakistan is holding a historic and future-determining gathering at the Bagh-e-Jinnah for the rights of the urban areas of Sindh,” he said.

On the occasion, MQM-P Senior Deputy Convener Mustafa Kamal said the party was going to make a new history of Pakistan. He maintained that Karachi, not the IMF, could take Pakistan out of the present economic crisis.

If Pakistan was to run and be saved, Karachi must run and be built, Kamal remarked. He claimed that whatever development work had been done in the city, it was by the MQM-P. Another senior deputy convener of the party Dr Farooq Sattar said that Pakistan was created 75 years ago but the goals of its creation were not achieved. He stated that the MQM-P was working for the development of Pakistan and Karachi.

He appealed to the citizens of Karachi to come out of their homes and attend the party’s public meeting. The MQM-P was the solution to the problems like inflation and unemployment, he said.