PSP celebrates completion of five years

Announcing that the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) will observe March 3 every year as ‘Youm-e-Shukar’ and 'Determination Day', PSP leaders at an event said the struggle started by Syed Mustafa Kamal would continue.

Five years have passed since Kamal and Anis Kaimkhani, who once used to be key leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), levelled serious allegations against party chief Altaf Hussain on their return to Pakistan and announced forming the PSP.

Addressing an event to celebrate the completion of the party’s five years, Kamal on Thursday said he and Kaimkhani were not afraid of tyrants five years ago when the two of them returned home.

“Now we are in a large number,” said Kamal at an event held at the Pakistan House, the party’s secretariat. “Apart from us, no one has the formula for the development of Pakistan.” He added that he cursed such politics where the party leadership locked their party representatives in hotels before the Senate elections.

“It only happens when the leader himself doesn't have moral integrity, rigs elections, buys and sells votes, and is afraid of betrayal by his own representatives,” he said. The Senate elections, according to Kamal, had proved that there was no difference between the current and former rulers. “This style of politics cannot bring any change or improvement in the country. This system needs to be uprooted. What happened in the Senate elections has brought Pakistan into disrepute and is a source of embarrassment for patriotic Pakistanis.”

People who are busy slinging mud at each other on social media have no idea how they are being viewed internationally, he said.

Kamal said the government should announce a grand national dialogue. “Reform the system and then each party should present its party manifesto and get a mandate from the people to achieve the national goals.”

The strength of democracy depended on the strength of the democratic system that needed to be fixed, he said. “If our public representatives are not ready to talk to other representatives of the Pakistani nation, the nation itself should rethink in which direction their elected representatives will take them.” Kaimkhani and others also spoke to the participants at the event.