Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H) Chairman Afaq Ahmed has said the Sindh government is charging Rs1,850 per motorcycle for issuing new Ajrak number plates from 3.5 million motorcycle riders in Karachi in the name of culture.
He warned that biased policies of the Sindh government of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) could lead to the division of the province.
Addressing a press conference at the MQM-H office’s inauguration in District Central on Saturday, he said the MQM-H did not want the division of the province but it would start a protest against the Sindh government in September.
He said his party was pursuing a policy of brotherhood but if the Sindh government did not return the money collected in the name of Ajrak tax to the citizens of Karachi, it would face a strong public response.
Ahmed said the MQM-H would celebrate Independence Day in August in a grand manner.
He also clarified that he was not in contact with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement founder, and added that he prayed for his recovery if he was sick.
He said when people were being killed by dumpers and tankers in Karachi, the Sindh government did not care but when the MQM-H protested against the anti-people policies of the PPP, including patronising the water tankers and dumper mafia, politically motivated cases were registered against him and his associates.
He claimed that there were various mafias operating in Karachi and alleged that the Sindh government of the PPP had given the entire city system on contract to those mafias.
He alleged that the PPP had destroyed the education system of Karachi as the results of Karachi’s education boards had been deliberately distorted.
He said the results of education boards in interior Sindh were improved to give the impression that Karachi’s children were not competent students.
He lamented that Karachi’s infrastructure was destroyed and the responsibility for dumper and tanker accidents was shifted onto motorcycle riders on the pretext that they did not wear helmets.
The MQM-H chief said the Sindh government had not yet established a modern public transport system in Karachi and instead of providing transport facilities to the people, it was giving three times more expensive vehicles to its officers.
He said that more than 3.5 million motorcycles were registered in Karachi under the excise department and the price of the number plates of these motorcycles had already been collected.
Now, the Sindh government was forcibly collecting Rs1,850 per motorcycle from the motorcycle riders of Karachi in the name of the new number plate with the sign of Ajrak, he said and condemned it for being an unjust policy.
He said that when the heirs of those who died in traffic accidents in Gambat and Larkana were being given Rs5 million each, the heirs of those who died in traffic accidents in Karachi should also be given Rs5 million each.
