Wahab defends police as MQM-P calls for recruitment scrutiny

Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab and Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad inaugurated road carpeting work at the Machi Miani Market at the Kharadar Market in District South on Sunday.

Wahab said that a year and a half ago the area witnessed the construction of the Bilquis Edhi Park and the paving of various streets. The old city area is the identity of Karachi, he added. He said Rs50 million would be allocated for paving the streets in the old city area. “We’ll provide municipal facilities and carry out development work in every area of Karachi,” the mayor said, adding that the city’s development aligns with the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) vision.

He also said critics would continue to criticise, but “our focus remains solely on work and progress”. Facing challenges while developing the city is inevitable, he added. “When I speak, I always talk about work and progress,” he pointed out. He remarked that the town chairmen should work with the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation.

Police reputation

Regarding the statement of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on rampant street crime in the city, Wahab said the party is “shameful, and wants to damage the reputation of the police”.

He pointed out that during the MQM-P’s tenure the city witnessed incidents like the Baldia factory tragedy. “We saw target killings at their peak in the city during the MQM’s tenure,” he said, adding that the police and Rangers worked together to establish peace in the city.

He also said the police bravely foiled terrorists’ attack. “A young police officer saved Karachi from a major catastrophe,” the mayor pointed out.

He added that whether it was the Karachi Police Office, the stock exchange or the Landhi attack, the law enforcement institutions worked together to thwart them, as “our agencies are always ready to combat terrorists”.

Regarding water theft in the city, Wahab said when he became the mayor he conducted operations against the water mafia. “We’re also starting a Rs2 billion project in Malir soon.”

He said they have prepared a plan for the Hub Dam water, adding that during the next year there would be noticeable changes in the work on the Hub Canal.

Demand for scrutiny

Responding to the mayor’s criticism, the MQM-P’s provincial lawmakers issued a statement saying that the PPP leaders’ “stubbornness, incompetence, corruption and support for bandits have become evident to the public”. They claimed that the entire Pakistani media have shown how weapons are being smuggled in PPP ministers’ vehicles.

“Wahab is recalling Karachi’s past involving kidnappings for ransom, extortion and target killings, without acknowledging that his party’s own home minister had issued millions of arms licences, leading to rampant murder and violence,” they said.

“Everyone knows who supported the gang wars under the guise of peace committees in Lyari and in other slum areas of Karachi from 2012 to 2013,” they added.

The MPAs said gangsters openly sent extortion slips to the city’s traders, and murdered those who did not comply. They claimed that the police are being involved in politics and crimes by PPP ministers instead of policing.

They demanded a scrutiny of every recruitment made in the police over the past 15 years, asserting that the MQM-P would continue to highlight the PPP’s “shameful” conduct. “If the PPP doesn’t change its behaviour, there will be protests not just in the assemblies but also on the streets.”

MQM’s action plan

The MQM-P has decided to form a monitoring committee consisting of MPAs to oversee the ongoing development works in the province, according to a statement issued by the party.

The decision was made during a meeting at the MQM-P’s election office, Pakistan House, chaired by party convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, and attended by other leaders, including Syed Mustafa Kamal, Dr Farooq Sattar and Anis Qaimkhani.

The meeting expressed concerns over the deteriorating law and order situation in Sindh, especially in Karachi, criticising the PPP’s provincial government for its alleged lack of concern for the protection of the public’s lives and properties.

The statement said that being “the largest political and sole representative party of urban Sindh”, the MQM-P would not abandon its people. It said the meeting also deliberated on organising small and big protests against street crime incidents in the city.

The statement also said the MQM-P has decided to reach out to the federal government and senior administrative leadership regarding the increasing incidents of street crime in the city, adding that the party would soon announce its action plan.