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MQM Pakistan Leaders Raise Alarm Over Karachi's Deteriorating Situation
Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui & MQM leaders raise concerns over illegal dumpers, K-4 delays & demand powers for local govts to solve Karachi’s problems.
ND
by News Desk
2025-04-08
MQM Pakistan Leaders Raise Alarm Over Karachi's Deteriorating Situation

MQM Pakistan leadership, including Chairman Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, senior leaders Farooq Sattar, Mustafa Kamal, and Aminul Haq, held a joint press conference on April 8, 2025, to voice concerns over the worsening situation in Karachi. The leaders raised several critical issues affecting the city, including the lack of progress on key projects like the K-4 water project, the growing number of illegal dumpers, and the need for powers to be transferred to local governments.

Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui expressed his frustration with the state of Karachi, highlighting the illegal dumpers operating in the city, which are largely run by non-local individuals. He emphasized that these issues, combined with the K-4 project remaining incomplete for over 15 years, are exacerbating the city's challenges.

“Karachi is sitting on a powder keg,” Siddiqui warned, “If the federal government does not act, it could lead to an explosion of unrest.” He attributed the deteriorating situation to the non-local elements who hold positions of power and control in the city, leading to inefficient governance and infrastructure development. He added that the MQM would pursue the issue through constitutional and legal means, given the party’s substantial mandate in Karachi and the surrounding urban areas of Sindh.

Siddiqui also criticized the lack of progress on the K-4 water project, one of Karachi’s most important water supply projects, which has been mired in delays and stagnation for over a decade. “This is a project that should have been completed long ago, but instead, it has been stalled,” he said, adding that negotiations with provincial governments have proven unfruitful.

Mustafa Kamal, the Federal Minister, also weighed in on the issue, stressing that when Karachi had the autonomy to make its own decisions, it flourished. “Whenever we had the power to make decisions, Karachi was developing. Every government comes to us with promises, but when will we see real change?” he asked. Kamal reiterated the demand for powers to be transferred to local governments, asserting that it is only through local governance that Karachi can truly thrive.

He further added, “We are not asking just for ourselves but for the entire country. Powers and resources need to be brought to the people, not kept at the top where they cannot make a difference.”

Farooq Sattar, another senior MQM leader, reflected on the party’s efforts to improve the situation for Karachiites, citing the reduction in electricity prices as a direct result of MQM’s negotiations with the government.

The MQM’s message was clear: Without local governance, Karachi will continue to suffer, and its people will be left to deal with the consequences of neglect. The party leaders reiterated their commitment to using all legal and constitutional means to push for the city’s issues to be addressed at the federal level.

 
Tagged:

Karachi

MQMPakistan

K4Project

LocalGovernance
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