Pakistani parliamentarian Syed Mustafa Kamal highlighted the country’s challenges by drawing a comparison between India and Pakistan. Kamal contrasted India’s accomplishments, such as the moon landing mission, with the dire conditions in Karachi. The leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) pointed out that while India is celebrated for its lunar achievements, Karachi faces tragic incidents of children dying from falling into open gutters.
Addressing the Pakistan National Assembly, Kamal remarked, “Today, the situation in Karachi is such that while the world progresses towards exploring the moon, children here are losing their lives by falling into open gutters. On one screen, we see news of India’s moon landing, and just seconds later…” The Pakistani MP further discussed the severe shortage of fresh water in Karachi. He also referenced a report indicating that 7 million children in Karachi and over 26 million in Pakistan are unable to attend school.
The Pakistani lawmaker highlighted the issue of insufficient fresh water in Karachi. The MQM-P representative referenced a report indicating that there are 7 million children in Karachi and over 26 million children in Pakistan unable to attend school.
“Karachi is Pakistan’s financial hub. The country’s two operational seaports since its founding are located here. We (Karachi) serve as the gateway to Pakistan, Central Asia, and Afghanistan… For 15 years, Karachi has not received even a drop of fresh water; the tanker mafia has hoarded it and sold it to the residents,” Kamal stated.
“We have a total of 48,000 schools, but a recent report indicates that 11,000 of these are ‘ghost schools’. In Sindh alone, 70 lakh children are not attending school, and across the nation, 2,62,00,000 children remain out of school. If we concentrate solely on this issue, the country’s leaders should find it hard to sleep,” the Pakistani MP mentioned further.
In August last year, India’s Chandrayaan-3 lander successfully became the first Indian spacecraft to touch down safely on the lunar surface in August 2023. Additionally, India achieved a historic milestone by being the first nation to land on the moon’s South Pole. Last month, Pakistan concluded a short-term USD 3 billion program that helped prevent a sovereign default. However, the government has emphasized the necessity for a new, longer-term program, as reported by Dawn.
