Khalid Maqbool hints at MQM-P leaving federal govt

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has hinted at the possibility of the MQM-P leaving the coalition federal government led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

Dr Siddiqui, who is also federal minister for education and professional training, was speaking at the inauguration of the Karachi campus of the National Textile University in Korangi Industrial Area. “Nobody knows when we’ll leave the government after becoming disgruntled,” he said.

The minister said campuses of different universities have been launched in the city, and more such campuses would be opened over the next few weeks.

“We don’t have the pleasant experience of remaining in governments and leaving those governments, so we want campuses of the universities having no presence in Karachi to be opened in the city at the earliest,” he said.

“Whether we remain present or not, the people associated with the relevant industries have to play their due part in properly running these campuses,” he added.

He urged business owners based in Karachi to lend support to the educational institutions in the provincial capital, much like they run the entire country.

He said that these educational institutions not only produce the future of Karachi but also that of the entire Pakistan. “Our aim is that the new generation in the city gets Karachi back with its past glory.”

The education minister mentioned that the federal capital city has progressed to such an extent that it no longer looks like a part of Pakistan.

“We take pride in witnessing progress, but it saddens us to see the struggles of Karachi, a city whose taxes support the entire nation. We hope that Karachi, along with the rest of the country, can achieve progress similar to that of Islamabad’s.”

Talking to the media later, he said that the local government representatives in Karachi cannot deliver, given the present “rotten and incapacitated” LG law in Sindh.

He opined that the last LG polls were not elections but a conspiracy hatched by the provincial government. He claimed that the Jamaat-e-Islami had equally participated in the conspiracy.

“We boycotted that conspiracy,” said Dr Siddiqui while recalling the decision of the MQM-P to stay away from the last local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad.

He said his party has never been fond of ministries. “Because of this reason, we remain the only party that has left ministries despite remaining in the government.”