PPP govts to be in all Sindh districts for first time: Murad

KARACHI: The tug-of-war between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) for Karachi’s mayor continues as on Sunday Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said it would be the first time in history that their elected local bodies representatives would be serving the people in every district of the province while JI Ameer Sirajul Haq asked PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to accept the mandate of 35 million Karachiites.

Speaking at the post-budget press conference here at the Sindh Assembly’s auditorium, the PPP’s chief minister claimed that all the upcoming mayors of cities and chairmen of district councils in Sindh would belong to the Peoples Party.

The chief minister said that it was the responsibility of the Sindh government to present the elected local bodies’ representatives, who were under arrest and facing criminal charges on the day of the election, to mayor of Karachi.

The chief minister claimed that his government had completed development projects in Karachi of Rs56 billion while uplift schemes costing Rs200 billion were being completed in the provincial capital.

He advised those who complained about insufficient allocation in the new provincial budget for the uplift of Karachi to “open their eyes and shun their biased thinking” and they would see that there were many things pertaining to Karachi in the new provincial budget.

He mentioned that fuss had been created by the opponents of his government that the new provincial budget contained an allocation of merely Rs12 billion for Karachi. Though the reality is that a single development scheme in Karachi is worth Rs12 billion, he said without specifying the uplift project in question.

Murad said that certain concerned quarters criticised the new provincial budget without reading the budgetary documents. He rejected the criticism that his government had been ignoring progress of Karachi.

Murad informed journalists that the total cost of development schemes in Karachi funded by foreign donor agencies was Rs701 billion.

He said that an allocation of Rs127 billion had been made for the CLICK project (Competitive and Livable City of Karachi project) that would be executed by the local government agencies. He told journalists that the new Sindh government’s budget for the upcoming financial year 2023-24 contained an allocation of Rs27 billion for building the Yellow Line section of the Bus Rapid Transit Service in Karachi.

The CM said that budget of the upcoming financial year had an allocation of Rs182 billion for projects and agencies based in Karachi. The proposed K-IV bulk water supply scheme for Karachi having cost of Rs52 billion had been pending with the federal government for approval.

Shah said that development schemes having a total value of Rs255 billion were being executed under the public-private partnership programme. The Sindh government provided financial assistance to public sector hospitals based in Karachi, including National Institute of Child Health, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi.

Shah informed media persons that Indus Hospital in Karachi was given a grant of Rs4 billion for its development. “Those criticising us have become afraid of the Peoples Party’s success as upcoming mayors of Karachi and Hyderabad will be from the PPP,” he said.

The CM said that his government had been doing hard work to serve the people of Karachi in the best-possible manner. “Those having bias in their minds have become afraid of Peoples Party,” he said. Such quarters would become silent once Karachi’s mayoral polls were held on June 15.

He told media persons that nobody should question why the people of Sindh voted every time in favour of the ruling PPP. He said the Peoples Party served the people of the province and bagged votes from the masses.

Murad said that maximum allocations had been made for education, health, law and order, and local government sectors in the new provincial budget. Rs800 billion had been reserved in the new budget of his government for education, health and local governments. He claimed that his government had spent record funds on carrying out development projects in the outgoing financial year 2022-23.

Murad said his government had arranged funding of $2 billion from foreign sources for the rehabilitation of flood victims. He said that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had played an important role in securing this foreign aid. Sindh had a bumper wheat crop this year after floods.

Meanwhile, the Save Karachi March, taken out on Sunday as part of countrywide protest against alleged attempts to manipulate the mayoral election in Karachi by the PPP, warned the Sindh government that people of Karachi will not compromise on their mandate, so the government needs to mend its ways.

A large number of JI workers took to Shahrah-e-Quaideen in protest against, what they called, the fascist tactics by the PPP to bulldoze the mandate of the citizens as the PPP resorted to arrest elected chairmen of union councils belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Political and social activists, social media influencers, JI workers and people belonging to all walks of life joined the march. Participants, carrying placards and banners, chanted slogans against the ‘PPP’s fascist design’ to capture the mega city.

In his address, Sirajul Haq said the ruling elite in the country did only disservice to the country. The said class looted each and every institution and sector and was now aiming at the ballot box, he said, adding that the elite ruling class needs to know that times have changed and they will have to face an unprecedented resistance.

The JI chief said the upcoming mayoral election in Karachi is not about a contest between the PPP and JI, it is contest between the PPP and people of Karachi.

He pleaded PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to uphold democratic norms, values and principles by accepting the mandate of 35 million Karachiites. Otherwise, he warned the PPP leadership of a resistance movement across the country and the JI is not going to let the city put on the mercy of PPP.

Siraj said the JI has a proven record of progress and development in the city and other parts of the country. He further said the JI’s credibility has also been acknowledged on international fora and by international institutions working closely with the party.

Siraj once again warned the PPP government to abide by the rules and regulations and avoid any attempt to snatch the mandate of the JI. Otherwise, he said, the party will leave no stone unturned in struggle for securing its mandate.

He also emphasised to transform the political system in the country from the basis of feudalism and elitism to the basis of social justice. The Islamic values of politics not only ensure a welfare state for its citizens but also for others as well.

Jamaat-e-Islami Sindh Ameer Muhammad Hussain Mehnati in his address said that the city has been going through one of the worst phases of its history. The PPP government ruling in Sindh has ruined the infrastructure of the city.

The entire Sindh province has been ruined, he said, adding that people across Sindh are looking to activism of Karachiites against the PPP with hope and positivity. He further said that people across the province have held protests against the PPP in solidarity with Karachi and Karachiites.

JI Karachi chief and mayor candidate Hafiz Naeemur Rehman in his address said that since the PPP realised its imminent humiliation in the local government elections in the mega city, the party had tried its level best to avoid the polls. He further said it was the continuous pursuit by the JI that compelled the PPP government in Sindh to hold the elections.

From this point, the PPP opened another chapter of fascism, undemocratic and anti-people tactics to please its feudal mindset by naked attempts to snatch the mandate of Karachiites. Unfortunately, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) played the role of A team for the PPP when it comes to post-poll rigging, he said.

The JI stalwart made it clear that the Karachiites would not let the PPP snatch their mandate and the JI will use all constitutional and democratic options against the ruling party. Rehman said that the PPP is hated in Karachi because of its feudal and fascist designs to usurp the rights of Karachiites. JI Secretary General Ameerul Azeem and others also addressed the march.