Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Farooq Sattar on Tuesday urged PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to seek resignations from the Sindh chief minister and the Karachi mayor.
A war of words has been ongoing between MQM-P and PPP leaders in the wake of the Gul Plaza inferno, with lawmakers associated with the former party demanding that Karachi be handed over to the Centre.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Sattar termed Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Senior Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon and Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab — who he said were close to Bilawal — as his “three naive friends”.
“What if a drop scene happens? They are making you sink in a swamp. So we, Karachi’s people, those living in Sindh’s cities, are demanding from you that all three resign,” Sattar said, referring to CM Murad, Memon and Wahab.
He remarked that the three leaders had added an enormous “burden” to the PPP’s “ship that could sink it”.
“Reduce this burden,” he said, urging Bilawal to demand the resignation of all three.
Sattar emphasised that the MQM-P was not demanding the resignations, but rather calling on Bilawal to decide after consulting with President Asif Ali Zardari.
Sattar noted that the PPP had other “good individuals” who believed in dialogue and engagement as per the ideology of ex-president Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and ex-premier Benazir Bhutto.
However, during his media talk, the MQM-P leader also lamented that he had failed to meet Bilawal despite seeking a time for a meeting for the “past one-and-a-half year”.
“I gave a chit to him in every [NA] session and he is not even willing to meet us.”
He said this was his “last” attempt, adding that he would not seek a meeting with Bilawal afterwards.
The MQM-P leader went on to say he would not discuss at length “how the government is formed in Sindh”, alleging rigging in the mayoral elections that Wahab won in June 2023.
MQM-P insistent on judicial commission
During his press conference, Sattar also reiterated his party’s demand to form a judicial commission to probe the Gul Plaza blaze.
“I am asking Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari sahib … to form a judicial commission on the incident … and ignore his ignorant friends,” the MNA said.
Sattar even compared the Gul Plaza incident to the Battle of Waterloo of 1815, where Napoleon was defeated after around 15 years of his rule.
“This Gul Plaza will not leave you. It will haunt you. You will neither be able to sleep at night, nor be at peace in the day.
“[…] Form the judicial commission. This will haunt you very badly. This is your [Battle of] Waterloo,” Sattar remarked.
He said that compensation and inquiry should not be conducted by the government machinery. “It should be independent and of a high-level.”
The MQM-P leader lauded the Punjab government’s preparedness when a fire recently erupted at a Lahore hotel, with 275 people safely evacuated but three lives lost.
On the PPP’s stance that MQM-P was politicising the Gul Plaza fire, Sattar said, “Neither did we raise a question during the 72 hours of the incident, nor did we do any politics.
“The questions were raised by the nation and media … Where were the officials and why did they reach the spot after 24 hours? How many fire brigades are there in Karachi? And how many of them were installed by the Sindh government? … How did you engage the trader community’s unions? What SOPs (standard operating procedures) were made for the future?”
Sattar asserted that it was the public’s right to raise questions.
He accused the staff of the Sindh Forensic DNA and Serology Laboratory (SFDL), which is conducting the DNA tests to identify victims, of being “inexperienced” and not having any training.
The MQM-P leader also raised questions on the Karachi Strategic Development Plan approved by CM Murad, saying a provincial disaster management plan had to be established under it. “So far, no institution has been established.”
In response to a question about the federal government “continuously ignoring” Karachi, Sattar said, “This is a topic for a separate press conference.”
When another journalist pointed out that a representative from the federal government did not visit the site of the incident either, the MQM-P leader again replied that they would hold a separate press conference on that.
However, Haider Abbas Rizvi, who flanked Sattar, intervened and said they had “hopes” from the federal government. “We are waiting and watching the conduct. If required, we will talk about it.”
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