ISLAMABAD, July 5: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Wednesday rejected the charter of democracy and accused the two major political parties, which took the initiative, of weakening the country and looting the exchequer while they were in power.

In a telephonic address from London on the launching of a book The devastation caused by earthquake and services of MQM by Saleem Shahzad, he said that both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, who were talking of uniting under the charter of democracy, belonged to the two per cent power mafia that had been exploiting the 98 per cent oppressed people since long.

He asked the people not to be hoodwinked by the two parties again and urged them to strengthen his hands for the sake of the country’s security and integrity.

“Our mission is to liberate these 98 per cent people from the clutches of the two per cent privileged class,” he said, adding that a strenuous effort, a cohesive struggle and lots of sacrifices were required to achieve this objective. He asked people to brace for the challenge ahead.

He expressed optimism to bring about a revolution with people’s support and rid the country of anti-Pakistan elements and feudal system.

Mr Hussain said that the elements who used to call him a cowardly person for leaving Pakistan to live in exile were now themselves living in exile. However, he alleged, the difference was that those elements had gone into exile after minting huge sums by plundering the exchequer.

He said the MQM had been accused in the past of opposing the Kashmir cause and Kashmiri people. However, he pointed out, MQM was the first political party to have launched relief activities and established relief camps in the quake-hit areas of Azad Kashmir and NWFP.

According to the book, the MQM collected and spent over Rs2.41 billion on relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation activities and its relief camps were still operating in the quake zones.

Opinion

Editorial

Pakistan’s moment
20 Jun, 2026

Pakistan’s moment

THOUGH uncertainty may surround the fate of the US-Iran MoU, throughout this episode — from the start of the war ...
Menacing water plans
20 Jun, 2026

Menacing water plans

IN April last year, India suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty, which contains no provision allowing it to...
World Refugee Day
20 Jun, 2026

World Refugee Day

WORLD Refugee Day, observed today around the globe, marks 75 years since the adoption of the 1951 convention ...
Digital deal
19 Jun, 2026

Digital deal

THINGS have moved rapidly where the Iran-US memorandum of understanding is concerned. While the physical document ...
Failing the public
19 Jun, 2026

Failing the public

WHETHER it is Sindh’s struggle to secure clean drinking water or Balochistan’s difficulty in improving the...
Crushed lives
19 Jun, 2026

Crushed lives

COURTS and commissions have often been up in arms over the health and ecological hazards associated with...