In the month of Ramazan, most
of the political parties in Karachi are distributing extortion slips in the name
of Fitra and Zakat and the top of the list is Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
80% of Karachi is covered by MQM which includes most of the industrial areas and
MQM has built units in all those areas. These units send workers to distribute
the extortion slips in every shop, house and industry. One extortion book
contains 25 slips, Rs75 per slip. Little shops get at least one book, and big
shops get two to three books and industries have to pay for five to six books
willy-nilly. Even poor people can't get the benefit of their poverty.
It is very strange that MQM senators Babar Ghauri and Col (r) Tahir Mashhadi
condemned the distribution of extortion slips and appealed to President of
Pakistan to stop it rather than demanding their party leader Altaf Hussain to do
the same. If MQM is really a democratic party as it claims then I request Altaf
Hussain to take immediate notice of this issue and stop the extortion which is
done by his party workers and use a real democratic way of getting Fitra and
Zakat so that they can win the hearts of people.