KARACHI – Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader and Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has announced that his party will take its campaign for greater devolution of powers to the streets after exhausting parliamentary avenues.
Speaking at a press conference in Karachi alongside party leaders, Mustafa Kamal said MQM-P had raised the issue in Parliament and even proposed a constitutional amendment, but its demands were not accepted.
“We have done parliamentary politics. We presented a constitutional amendment, but it was ignored. Now we will take our message to the streets while remaining within the Constitution and the law,” he said.
Criticising the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led Sindh government, Kamal alleged that Karachi was being prevented from playing its full role in Pakistan’s development. He said Lahore had advanced significantly over the years while Karachi continued to face serious governance and infrastructure challenges.
“The world is progressing rapidly, but our children are losing their lives after falling into open manholes,” he said, adding that other cities were introducing air ambulance services while Sindh was launching bicycle ambulances.
The federal minister claimed that governance issues in Sindh had persisted despite the PPP remaining in power for nearly 18 years. He also alleged that the province had one of the country’s highest numbers of child deaths caused by dog bites.
Kamal said MQM-P had decided to launch a constitutional and democratic public campaign after its parliamentary efforts failed to produce results. He reiterated the party’s demand for the transfer of administrative and financial powers to the grassroots level and called for the creation of new administrative provinces under the Constitution.
He further claimed that 26 million children in Sindh were out of school and that many girls’ schools lacked basic facilities, including washrooms.
Highlighting Karachi’s economic importance, Kamal said the city generates more than 50% of Pakistan’s revenue and over 95% of Sindh’s revenue, but alleged that it had received only a small share of development funds over the past 18 years.
He claimed that out of Rs22 trillion allocated during the period, Karachi received only Rs680 billion, amounting to about 3%, and vowed to present the party’s case before the public with supporting facts and figures.
