Days of violent politics are numbered in Karachi: Siraj

KARACHI: Amir Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Sirajul Haq said on Friday that the days are numbered for politics of violence and the masses of the city would announce their verdict in favour of politics of decency on April 23.

Speaking at a rally organised by the party’s women wing at Shahra-e-Pakistan here, he said that the time has come when decision of Karachi’s fate will be made on its streets and not in London.

The JI amir said that the ‘castle of atrocity and oppression’ would be destroyed with the power of vote in the NA-246 by-election. He vowed that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) would not be able to hijack the April 23 polls unlike what he claimed the party practiced in the past.

“MQM chief Altaf Hussain will resign again on April 23, but he will not be able to retract the decision this time around,” said Sirajul Haq referring to Hussain’s decisions of parting ways with his party on at least 10 occasions in the past couple of years.

He said there were thousands of ghost employees in the government departments, who he claimed used to perform duties for Nine-Zero instead.

Haq blamed the government’s incompetence in turning a blind eye from the issue of ghost employees, saying the Sindh government has been doing so to protect its political interests.

The JI chief claimed that Altaf Hussain, who has been living in exile in Britain for the last two decades, does not return to Pakistan to avoid facing parents who have lost their children due to politics of violence in the metropolis.

“Children need books and not Kalashnikovs,” he said.

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MQM hits back

Meanwhile, MQM leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that extortion and terrorism were gifts presented to Karachiites by the same people that are hurling allegations at his party.

Responding to the JI Amir’s tirade against the MQM, he told Geo News that the same people were not only illegally occupying lands but also running unlawful water hydrants in Karachi.

“Will Sirajul Haq resign as JI amir if his party’s candidate loses the by-election on April 23?” he questioned.