KARACHI: Former provincial health minister and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Saghir Ahmed on Monday announced that he was joining former Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal and Anees Qaimkani to "play his role for the progress of Pakistan".

“I have come here so that, shoulder to shoulder with Mustafa Kamal and Anees Qaimkhani, I play my part for the progress of Pakistan. So that Karachi, the lifeline of Pakistan, comes back on the path of development,” he said.

“I want to play a positive role which Pakistan requires, which can help Pakistan prosper and defeat enemies of Pakistan".

Dr Saghir was addressing a press conference in Karachi alongside Kamal and Qaimkhani, who had recently announced a new, yet unnamed party in a direct challenge to the MQM in Karachi.

He said that he had joined ranks with Kamal and Qaimkhani because it was not possible for him to “keep my conscience on tranquilizers”.

“It was not possible for me to keep silent witnessing so many cruelties. I have been a victim of weakness and compromises. But I think that enough is enough! Today, I know that more people who listen to their conscience will come forward. I ask them: what do you have to fear?”

He said that many others in the MQM shared his views but were afraid of expressing them publicly.

“I am not in contact with anyone else (from the MQM), neither have I spoken to anyone about this. But my sixth sense says, many more people will come forward,” he said.

The former minister said that the patriotism of the Urdu-speaking community "had become a joke".

“But I want to say this: No member of the Urdu-speaking community, no MQM activist is an enemy of Pakistan. I plead to all those in power to bring this community back into the national fold,” he said.

Saghir said that he had witnessed the situation of the city going from bad to worse, and that Kamal and Qaimkhani had given him an opportunity to stand up for a change.

The former minister said that he was quitting the MQM and resigning from his membership of the Sindh Assembly.