MQM-P urges Sindh CM, Karachi mayor to step down amid call for city's takeover by Centre

• Farooq Sattar says Karachi should be handed over to Centre.
• MQM-P leader asks if they seek protection from Islamabad.
• Sharjeel Memon says he won’t resign at demand of MQM-P.
  

Stressing the need for accountability, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Tuesday urged Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to sack Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab and Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon over the Gul Plaza tragedy.

Addressing a joint press conference, MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar reiterated the party’s demand for a judicial commission to probe the deadly shopping mall blaze that claimed more than 73 lives.

Sattar’s remarks came after the security of MQM-P leaders was withdrawn, a claim the provincial government denied.

The MQM-P leader termed the move an “attempt to divert attention” from the Gul Plaza tragedy, adding: “This time we will bring justice to the victims of the Gul Plaza.”

He maintained that they would not backtrack from their demand for the judicial commission, whether their security is withdrawn or false cases are registered against them.

The deadly inferno erupted at the shopping mall on January 17 and took nearly two days to be extinguished. At least 73 people lost their lives, while around 1,200 shops were affected in the blaze.

Slamming the Sindh government over the tragedy, the MQM-P leader said that Karachi should be handed over to the Centre if the provincial government is unable to fulfil its responsibilities.

Referring to the withdrawal of security, the MQM-P leader asked whether the provincial government could not guarantee their security and if they should instead seek protection from the federal government.

“By doing this, you [Sindh government] are sending a message that you can’t take our [MQM-P] responsibility,” he added.

The MQM-P leader urged the provincial government to handover Karachi to the Centre if they cannot fulfil their responsibilities.

“Sindh does not need Governor's rule, but a decision has to be made for Karachi,” Sattar added.

The MQM-P leader urged the provincial government to gradually handover Karachi to the federation.

Reacting to the press conference, Memon said he would not resign at the demand of MQM-P. He said that a judicial commission would be formed if any shortcomings were found in the probe.

The provincial minister accused MQM-P of staging a “drama”, saying the party had in the past shut down the city on the orders of its leadership.

He said the final report of the Gul Plaza tragedy hasn’t come yet, adding that they wanted the investigation to reach its conclusion.

Separately, the Karachi's mayor said that Gul Plaza was regularised in 2003. He said they had paper evidence that the shopping mall was leased during the tenure of Sattar.