PPP, MQM-P trade barbs over quota system

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Monday demanded the immediate resignation of Governor Kamran Tessori over Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) alleged “divisive politics.”

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Mutthida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Monday exchanged barbs over quota system for government jobs and levelled serious allegations at each other.

The exchange of harsh statements triggered by the Sindh High Court (SHC) recent verdict to declare the recruitment process — carried out by the PPP-led government before February 8 elections — unlawful.

Sindh Senior Minister for Excise, Taxation, Narcotics Control, Transport, and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon and Energy Minister Nasir Hussain Shah asked Tessori to step down while addressing a press conference, criticising the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) for its divisive politics.

During a press conference, Sindh ministers lambasted the MQM-P for its alleged politics of hatred and accusations, stating that the party has become irrelevant at the local level.

Memon accused the MQM-P of resorting to outdated tactics, saying, “MQM’s politics of hatred and accusations are outdated. They are no longer visible at the Union Council level”.

The ministers also criticized MQM-P Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui for his remarks against the former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Shajeel Memon claimed that the MQM-P had indulged in nepotism by hiring its workers in local government institutions and criticized the party for its stance on the quota system. “The MQM-P’s demands to end the quota system are inappropriate,” he added.

“MQM-P should be ashamed of its illegal recruitments and the burning of living people for extortion in Baldia factory incident,” he said.

Both ministers demanded Governor Tessori’s resignation, accusing him of failing to address the issues caused by the MQM-P. “It is inappropriate to make baseless accusations against our martyred leaders. Governor Sindh should resign immediately,” said Shah.

“We do not want to respond to rudeness with rudeness or to escalate hateful politics,” Memon further stated.

Earlier, MQM-P Chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that locals should be recruited on Grade 1 to 15 posts and praised the SHC’s ruling on the matter.