'India landed on moon, while we...': Pakistan MP points at Chandrayaan-3 to highlight Karachi's woes (WATCH)
Syed Mustafa Kamal, from Pakistan's MQM-P party, highlighted Karachi's ongoing tragedies of children falling into open gutters, contrasting it with India's impressive lunar landing.
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FollowIn an address to the National Assembly in Pakistan, Syed Mustafa Kamal, a lawmaker from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P), has drawn attention to the stark disparities in development between their country and its neighbour, India. Kamal's comparison, juxtaposing India's successful lunar mission with Karachi's infrastructure woes, highlights a troubling reality that demands urgent attention from Pakistani authorities.
Kamal's words echo the frustrations of millions living in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and economic powerhouse, where basic amenities like proper sanitation and access to fresh water remain elusive. The tragic deaths of children due to open gutters, highlighted by Kamal, serve as a grim reminder of the failure to address fundamental infrastructure challenges. While India celebrates scientific achievements like Chandrayaan-3, Kamal noted that Karachi grapples with preventable tragedies, underscoring the urgent need for prioritizing public welfare over other pursuits.
“Today, when the world is going to the moon, our children are dying by falling into gutters in Karachi. On our TV screens, we see the news that India landed on the moon, and after just two seconds, there is news that a child died in an open gutter in Karachi,” Kamal said in his address to the Parliament.
On August 23, 2023, India's Chandrayaan-3 mission created history with the successful soft landing on Moon's surface. India has achieved the remarkable feat of being the first nation to approach the Moon's uncharted South Pole, solidifying its position among the top four countries to successfully execute a soft landing on the lunar surface.
The MQM-P member also spoke about the lack of fresh water in the city, home to nearly 20.3 million (2.3 crore) people.
“Karachi is the revenue engine of Pakistan. The two seaports operational in Pakistan since its inception, are both here. It is the gateway to the entire country. For 15 years, Karachi did not get much fresh water. Whatever water came, that too was hoarded by the tanker mafia,” Kamal stated.
Referring to a report, Kamal also highlighted that in Sindh province alone, home to Karachi, the capital city, approximately 7 million children were not attending school. Nationally, this figure stood at 2.6 crore.
“We have total 48,000 schools, but a new report says that out of these, 11,000 are 'ghost schools.' As many as 70 lakh children in Sindh and 2.62 crore in the country, are not going to school. That should not let our leaders sleep,” he said.
According to Unicef, Pakistan hosts the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children, with approximately 22.8 million youngsters aged 5-16 not receiving formal education, constituting 44 percent of the total population in this age bracket.
In Sindh, a staggering 52 percent of the most underprivileged children (with 58 percent being girls) are deprived of schooling, while in Balochistan, a concerning 78 percent of girls are out of school.
Simultaneously, Pakistan grapples with persistent economic challenges, encompassing soaring inflation rates and escalating debt burdens.
The prolonged delays in the implementation of the International Monetary Fund Extended Fund Facility program, coupled with a corresponding decline in external financial inflows, have resulted in a depletion of foreign reserves to precarious levels. This precarious situation is compounded by high inflation rates and rapid currency devaluation, as observed by the World Bank.
Syed Mustafa Kamal's statements follow closely on the heels of Maulana Fazlur Rehman's remarks, where the senior Pakistani politician emphasized the economic discrepancies between India and Pakistan.
“India is dreaming of becoming a superpower, and we are begging to avoid bankruptcy," he had said.
subscribe to Asianet Newsable WhatsApp channel by clicking here.- India
- Karachi
- Maulana Fazlur Rehman
- Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P)
- Parliament
- Sindh province
- Syed Mustafa Kamal
- bankruptcy
- disparities in development
- economic discrepancies
- education
- fresh water
- ghost schools
- infrastructure woes
- lunar mission
- open gutters
- public welfare
- sanitation
- seaports
- superpower
- tanker mafia
- tragic deaths
- water scarcity
