KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader and Federal Minister Mustafa Kamal has renewed his criticism of party chairman Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, alleging that he prevented Waseem Akhtar from becoming the Governor of Sindh.
Addressing a general workers’ meeting, Kamal said the party had decided to work towards fundamentally changing Pakistan’s governance model by ensuring that constitutional powers and resources reach citizens at the grassroots level.
He said MQM-P believes in the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law, urging party workers to continue their political struggle within the legal and constitutional framework.
Commenting on governance in Sindh, Kamal claimed that the provincial government had received Rs22 trillion from the federal government over the past 18 years, yet had failed to provide basic civic facilities to residents of Karachi, Hyderabad, and other urban areas of the province.
He announced that MQM-P would launch a protest movement from July 26 to demand the rights of Sindh’s urban population.
During his speech, Mustafa Kamal also addressed speculation regarding former Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar’s absence from party activities.
He said there is a perception that Waseem Akhtar has differences with him, but claimed that this is not the case.
“Waseem Akhtar’s disagreement is not with me; it is with Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui,” Kamal said.
The federal minister further alleged that when Waseem Akhtar sought the party’s nomination for the office of Sindh governor, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui—who was serving as the party’s convener at the time—agreed to support the nomination.
According to Kamal, Siddiqui arranged a meeting with the prime minister and presented a letter nominating Waseem Akhtar for the governorship.
However, Kamal claimed that after the meeting ended, Siddiqui privately told the prime minister not to act on the nomination letter, effectively preventing Waseem Akhtar’s appointment.
The allegations were made by Mustafa Kamal during his address and have not been independently verified. At the time of reporting, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Waseem Akhtar had not publicly responded to the claims.
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