KARACHI: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said on Friday that Karachi does not “belong” to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) but to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), as the latter gained more votes from the metropolis in the general elections of 2018 than any other party.
“We [the PTI] are working for the people of Karachi with MQM as a partner,” he said while talking to reporters.
After an earlier meeting with MQM-Pakistan leaders, Asad Umar had claimed that progress had been made in talks with the key ally.
“Both PTI and MQM-P are striving for development projects for Karachi and it is a stark reality that what the mega-city deserves is not being given to it,” he told the media.
The ruling PTI is making hectic efforts to persuade the disgruntled MQM-P to rejoin the federal cabinet.
MQM-P had in January announced it would quit the cabinet over ‘unfulfilled promises’.
Umar, who has previously led the finance ministry, also said that he had met with International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials during his visit to Karachi.
“The IMF team emphasised on entirely utilising the federal development budget,” said Umar.
Speaking on the prevalent coronavirus issue, the federal minister said that it was too early to comment on the impact of the virus on the pace of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
