KARACHI: Pak Sarzameen Party Chairperson Mustafa Kamal said that they were not like the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). According to him, they will not make political compromises on the basic issues of the people.
“I am not doing any politics here,” he said, addressing the media on Sunday as the sit-in staged by his party outside the Karachi Press Club entered its 11th consecutive day. “I just want that Karachi and its people should be given their due rights.”
He further stated that come what may, his party will never resort to violence in order to get its demand fulfilled. “We have also set a precedent of peaceful protests and we believe that it’s the right way.”
According to Kamal, if one million people in Karachi started walking on a specific street on a specific day on his call, their problems will be resolved within a span of 20 minutes.
The PSP chairperson said the party has all the muscle to come out on the main arteries and stage a demonstration but it would not do so because it will cause traffic jams and nuisance on the roads, affecting people.
Kamal reiterated his stance that he will not leave the streets until work on his 16 demands is initiated by the authorities.
Mentioning the two meetings of his party leaders with the province-ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) delegations, he said that perhaps the negotiators mistook PSP as the MQM who would retreat from their position on mere verbal assurance. “They [the PPP delegates] marked ticks on eight of our 16 demands and said that they were ready to accept them,” the PSP chief said. “We instead asked them to go back to their chief minister and tell him to start the work first.”
Interestingly, many of his demands call for empowering the Karachi mayor, a position held by MQM-Pakistan’s Wasim Akhtar at the moment.
“The Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) and Master Plan Department should be handed over to the mayor,” he said. “The mayor should also be given the charge of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) and Karachi Development Authority (KDA).”
Kamal further demanded that roads network and hospitals be placed under the city government and that district and union council chairpersons should be transferred resources.
The PSP chief also demanded that work on the K-IV project should be immediately announced. “Five garbage transfer stations should be established across the city [and] public transport buses should be increased,” he said. “The K-Electric should also return the overbilled amount of more than Rs100 billion [to the residents].”
He further said parks should also be handed over to the city government and the provincial finance commission should be formed immediately while the Road Infrastructure Authority should be devolved. “District cadre system should be formed – punishments should be set to end land-grabbing and Hyderabad should be given a special package,” he further demanded.
