Islamabad, May 16: Syed Mustafa Kamal, a leader of the Pakistan’s Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) party and member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, drew a comparison between development in India and his own country, highlighting the issues faced by the people of Karachi.

Pointing the problems faced by the people of Pakistan to the House, Kamal said, “Whenever we have talked to Asif Ali Zardari sahab, we have found him positive, receptive and interested in solving the problems. I want to inform him that the world is going to the moon, while in Karachi, a child is dying after falling into an open gutter. On the same screen, on one hand, while there were news about India landing on the moon, on the other, there were news about a child dying after falling in an open gutter in Karachi. This is the news every third day. I am requesting this to the head of Pakistan, to the party’s chairman…”

A video of his speech has been doing rounds on social media.

Kamal was referring to the successful touchdown of the Chandrayaan-3 Lander Module near the south pole of the Moon on August 23, 2023.

Referring to Karachi as the revenue engine of Pakistan, Kamal described the lack of basic civil amenities that hinder progress in the city. He said, “Karachi is the revenue engine of Pakistan. There are two sea ports active in Pakistan, since its inception, both are in Karachi and are the gateways to entire Pakistan, to Central Asia and to Afghanistan… We collect 68 per cent revenue from that city and contribute towards Pakistan, and we are proud of it. We collect about 95 per cent revenue from there.”

“For the past 15 years, Karachi has not been provided with even a drop of fresh water, and the tanker mafias steal and sell the water that is supplied to Karachi. Today, we have 48,000 schools in Sindh, out of which, according to a report presented in the High Court, are “ghost” schools. In the entire Sindh, about 2,62,00,000 students are not going to school…,” he added, describing the lack of basic amenities for the people of Karachi and Sindh.-Agencies