Karachi: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has demanded that Karachi be brought under direct federal administration, calling for an end to what it termed the “drama” of the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi on Tuesday, Federal Minister and MQM leader Mustafa Kamal said the city should be placed under federal control in accordance with Articles 148 and 149 of the Constitution. He alleged that the 18th Amendment had failed Karachi and was being used to systematically marginalize its people.
“The state has handed us over to those who have destroyed Karachi,” Kamal said. “Anyone who speaks the truth is blackmailed. This democratic terrorism must stop. How much more blood must we give, and how many more bodies must we carry, to prove our patriotism?”
Criticising the Sindh government, he said Karachi had been left at the mercy of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which, according to him, had failed to deliver over the past 18 years. “If the PPP wanted to fix Karachi, it would have done so by now,” he added.
Kamal claimed that even if the prime minister wished to act, he was unable to do so due to political constraints. “The federal government fears that if the PPP is displeased, the government could collapse,” he said, referring to political compromises made in the past, including during the no-confidence move against PTI founder Imran Khan.
Recalling his tenure as Karachi mayor, Kamal said that when 22 buildings were set on fire in a single day, he remained on the ground for four days and ensured businesses resumed within 40 days. “Today, no one is willing to take responsibility,” he remarked.
The MQM leader reiterated that Karachi’s worsening law and order situation, governance crisis, and infrastructure collapse required urgent federal intervention.