Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party (STP) Chairman Dr. Qadir Magsi has announced that his party will resist any attempt to hand over Karachi to the federation, and alleged that minor civic issues are being used as a pretext for talks of separating the city from the province.
Speaking to journalists at a ceremony in Makli today, Dr. Magsi emphasized that his party will formally launch its political struggle with a “historic” public meeting in the port city on April 12. He described Karachi as the “heart and soul of Sindh” and vowed to “protect and patronize it at all costs.”
The STP leader severely criticized the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), alleging that it has consistently engaged in politics based on linguistics and prejudice. He also held the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government responsible for MQM’s linguistic policies, arguing that the PPP’s failure to strengthen the local government system has exacerbated the situation.
Dr. Magsi claimed that the PPP’s “wrong policies” have turned even minor issues of Karachi into major problems. He lamented that whenever a sewer overflows or there is a water shortage, talks immediately begin about making Karachi a separate province or placing it under federal control.
According to the nationalist leader, an estimated 6 to 6.5 million Sindhis live in Karachi but are not counted in official records. He contrasted this with individuals from Wana, Waziristan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who have become members of the assembly from the city, while alleging that the local Sindhi population has been “confined to specific areas.”
He added that since 1947, Urdu-speaking communities in the city have been deliberately prevented from mixing with Sindhis due to what he termed “incorrect intentions.”
Dr. Magsi identified six districts, including Thatta and Karachi, as “centers of unrest” where state incompetence has left the public in “hunger and poverty.” He expressed disappointment that nationalist factions in Sindh have so far failed to establish a viable “third alternative political force.”
The STP chief accused the PPP and MQM of engaging in a “politics of mutual understanding,” which he claimed allows rulers to loot the province “like an orphanage.”
On international affairs, Dr. Magsi expressed deep concern over the global crisis and “war-like situation,” and prayed that world powers would play a role in averting a potential third world war, which he warned would kill millions and push global development back by centuries.