Daily Times

Federal Minister for Information Technology Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said on Friday that most of the development work in Karachi had been carried out by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-Pakistan).

Talking to the media, Maqbool Siddiqui criticised the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari for taking credit for the development of Karachi during his speech in the National Assembly.

“PPP has fractured Sindh’s unity by its policies. It shattered Karachi’s infrastructure and ethnic unity. The Sindh government even now spends nothing on cities,” he said.

“All the government projects have been mired in corruption. Only the MQM-P stands alongside democracy. We represent the people of Karachi in the Parliament as well as in the Sindh Assembly,” he said.

MQM-P’s Khawaja Izharul Hassan also condemned Zardari’s claims. “The Sindh government is deceiving the public and other opposition parties. It sometimes criticises the government and at times it admires federal policies. The PPP is unable to resolve problems such as water shortage, corruption and the failure of the health system in the province,” he said.

Khalid Maqbool, Khawaja Izharul Hassan criticise Asif Ali Zardari for taking credit for Karachi’s development

“No new jobs are being provided to the people of Karachi. The PPP government has come up with an artificial budget for the province,” he said. The MQM-P spokesperson also criticised Asif Ali Zardari’s speech. “No one can scare the followers of the founder of Pakistan. In 90’s, a fascist government tried to wipe out the Muhajirs, but did not succeed to defeat them. The entire history of PPP is anchored in favoritism, nepotism and corruption. The PPP leaders are giving themselves airs,” he said.

“Asif Ali Zardari is forgetting that 1993 was a year full of bloodshed. The PPP government was dissolved after it failed to control the violence,” the spokesperson said. “People’s Aman Committees were set up to terrorise Karachi citizens. Such elements were nurtured and protected by the PPP leadership,” he said.

Earlier during the National Assembly session, Asif Ali Zardari had criticised MQM-P despite that fact it had also demanded his production orders. “MQM was given billions of rupees during the Musharraf era. However, they used it for violence and bloodshed. People remember how MQM asked people to purchase weapons. MQM is crying now because it has suddenly become an orphan. I am not a man with little thoughts. I made this House independent,” Zardari had said.