MQM suffers setback as two women MPAs join PSP

KARACHI: The Muttahida Quami Movement, facing ongoing rifts and leadership challenges, on Wednesday suffered another setback as two female parliamentarians joined the Pak Sarzameen Party.

Naila Muneer and Naheed Begum made the announcement at press conference alongside PSP chairman Mustafa Kamal and president Anis Qaimkhani.

Mustafa Kamal called on the PIB and Bahudurabad factions of the MQM to join forces to addresses and injustices facing Karachi.

“There was injustice to Karachi in the delimitation and census. I call on my friends at PIB and Bahadurabad to join hands and struggle for the injustices facing Karachi,” he said.

He said they should address issues as jobs for unemployed youth, admissions in educational insitutions. “The path we have chosen for ourselves is vast, let us cleanse our hearts and work for the benefit of the people.”

He said the city was facing a plethora of problems including civic issues such as garbage disposal, lack of medicines in hospitals and education in schools, and stunted growth in children.

He demanded the province receives its rightful share according to the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award. He said the Sindh government has spent over a 1000 bn rupees but still there were food shortages, and 53000 children die every year which means 153 children lose their lives daily due to unclean water.

Kamal said that he does not want to the increase problems for the Muhajirs, but instead wants to resolve them, and Karachi is frontline city which has witnessed brother pitted against one another.

He said that the misguided youth of Karachi and Hyderabad should be forgiven just like those in Balochistan and FATA as anti-state forces had exploited the situation.

“There was no suicide bomber among these youth, nor any terrorist like the APS incident,” he said adding that he is calling on these youngsters to join the PSP.

He said the MQM had refused to include these youngsters saying that it would tarnish the party’s brand image. “The residents of this city were tied to the MQM and considered as RAW agents,” he said.

He said the population of Karachi and Hyderabad was reduced in the census, and there was injustice in the constitutional delimitation, for which it is imperative to join hands or the city would be orphaned.

“Those who were the guardians of the city were the looters, and today seventeen out of 20 MPAs are in MQM, and why is the city in such dire conditions,” he said.

MPA Naila Muneer said there has worked selflessly as part of the APMSO, and even after the August 22 incident in which MQM founder raised anti-state slogans, she hoped they would be out of the crisis.

However, the regressive mindset and favouritism in the MQM made her stand besides Mustafa Kamal who is a ray of hope for the people of Karachi.

Naheed Begum said that she has been an MPA since eight years, but there is no hope from the MQM in present circumstances, facing internal rift and other challenges ,forcing her to chose PSP as the ideal platform.