The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Tuesday expressed serious concern after security cover was withdrawn from several of its federal ministers, lawmakers and senior leaders in the early hours of the day.
According to sources, the move followed strong criticism by MQM-P leaders against the Sindh government over the Gul Plaza fire tragedy in Karachi, which claimed at least 73 lives and after which search operations are still underway to locate missing persons.
Sources told Geo News that the party leadership had issued sharp statements against the provincial government in the aftermath of the deadly blaze, prompting the withdrawal of security.
Security has been withdrawn from Federal Ministers Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Mustafa Kamal, senior leaders Farooq Sattar and Anis Kaimkhani, as well as MQM-P’s Opposition Leader in the Sindh Assembly Ali Khurshidi and several provincial lawmakers.
Party sources termed the development alarming and said it raised serious questions about the safety of their leaders.
In response, MQM-P has called an emergency press conference at 4pm today to address the issue and present the party’s stance on the withdrawal of security.
Last week, the MQM-P — a key ally of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led coalition government — demanded that Karachi be declared a federal territory under Articles 148 and 149 of the Constitution, calling the move necessary “for the sake of Pakistan”.
Expressing anger over the Gul Plaza fire, MQM-P leader and Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal criticised the Sindh government, stating that Karachi could not be left at its mercy.
“How many more accidents must we endure? How many more bodies must be recovered? How many more children will fall into open drains and die?” Kamal asked, adding that what he termed “democratic terrorism” in Sindh must end immediately.
He also called for the abolition of the 18th Amendment, describing it as a “cancer for the country”.
The Sindh government rejected the criticism, accusing MQM-P of politicising the tragedy. Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said those responsible for past violence were now using the Gul Plaza fire for political point-scoring.
Memon also criticised the timing of Kamal’s remarks on the 18th Amendment, urging that such debates be raised on the floor of the assembly rather than through public statements, which he said would yield no results.
