MQM-P to take to streets in first week of Feb over LB delimitations

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said on Wednesday that MQM-P will start protest demonstrations from first week of February for new delimitations in Karachi and Hyderabad, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Khalid Maqbool said before staging protest demonstrations, MQM-P will ask Sindh government and Election Commission of Pakistan to start the process of new delimitations. He claimed that Sindh government itself had accepted committing mistakes in 53 union councils of Karachi. He asked why ECP did not take action over that. He asked Supreme Court and high court that when rights of Sindh people were being usurped, why they did not take any suo motu. He said Karachi was the biggest tax paying city whose people were running the country and were more loyal to Pakistan than any other city in the country. He said the number of votes which all political parties bagged in recent LG elections collectively, were less than the votes secured by MQM-P seven years before in 2015. Dr Khalid said his party found no legal, moral, political or democratic reason to accept the LG elections held recently. Police officials were given additional duty of stamping the ballot papers and actual turnout was 5 to 6 percent.

Khalid Maqbool said the law under which delimitations were carried out in Karachi was withdrawn on 12th January, 2023. He was of the view that there were no new delimitations when the elections were held in Karachi. He said his party did not recognize such elections. 

He said his party will take to streets to convince people and use its right of protest in the first week of February.  He asked why people should consider these elections as legitimate without any legal, constitutional, moral or democratic reason. MQM-P will not accept these elections and approach the people to fight their case. He said the party will exploit every means including street protests to get rights.