MQM-P: Party warns it may quit government over unfulfilled PML-N agreement

KARACHI: Senior leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) have warned that the party could withdraw its support for the federal government and move to the opposition if the 18-point agreement signed with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is not fully implemented.

Speaking at a press conference at the party’s Bahadurabad headquarters on Saturday, Dr Farooq Sattar, Syed Aminul Haque and Senator Khalida Ateeb said MQM-P lawmakers would leave the treasury benches in the National Assembly if the agreement continued to be ignored.

The leaders also said MQM-P Chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui could announce a protest campaign against what they described as “looting and misgovernance” in Karachi at any time.

They argued that residents of Sindh, particularly Karachi, were facing growing difficulties because of unresolved civic and governance issues. They added that people from all linguistic communities in the city were being denied their basic rights.

The MQM-P leaders questioned whether responsibility for addressing Karachi’s longstanding problems rested solely with the Sindh government and said the party’s agreement with the PML-N should be viewed in that broader context.

They recalled that MQM-P had filed a petition in 2017 seeking greater powers for local governments. They said the Supreme Court, under former Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, upheld the principle in 2022 by ruling that authority should be devolved to local governments under Article 140-A of the Constitution. However, they maintained that meaningful empowerment of local governments has yet to be achieved.

The party also expressed dissatisfaction with the Sindh government’s performance, saying several development commitments and governance reforms remained unfulfilled.

Dr Farooq Sattar urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who witnessed the signing of the agreement, to ensure the implementation of all 18 points without delay. He warned that MQM-P would launch a protest movement if the commitments were not honoured, adding that public demonstrations in Karachi could become difficult to control.

He said effective implementation of Article 140-A would remove the need for constitutional amendments on local government powers. He also claimed that provisions related to the quota system and the formation of a commission to investigate alleged fake domiciles had not been implemented.

Criticising the Sindh government’s performance, Sattar questioned how provincial funds had been spent over the past 18 years and cited the K-IV water supply project as an example of rising costs without corresponding progress.