Mayor Wahab assures MQM-P of resolving municipal, other issues

A delegation from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement- Pakistan (MQM-P), led by senior leader and member of the National Assembly (MNA) Syed Amin ul Haque, met Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab at the KMC head office on Tuesday.

During the meeting, they discussed various issues, including municipal affairs, the payment of dues to retired employees, the elimination of encroachments, and water scarcity in Karachi.

Wahab assured the MQM-P delegation that all issues, including municipal affairs, would be addressed. The delegation included opposition leader Ali Khurshidi and assembly members Iftikhar Alam and Abdul Waseem.

After the meeting, Haque spoke to the media, stating that the purpose of the visit was to present Karachi’s problems to the mayor and work together to find solutions. He highlighted that retired KMC employees were struggling to receive their rightful dues.

The MQM-P had started efforts through its labour wing at the district level and with the KMC to help these employees, and it planned to raise this issue on all platforms to ensure that retired employees received their rights, he added.

Haque pointed out that despite the Pakistan Peoples Party controlling both the mayor’s office and the provincial government, issues like the payment of dues to retired employees remained unresolved. He emphasized that solving the employees’ dues issue should be a priority. Wahab assured the delegation of addressing these and other problems.

Haque also criticised the replacement of local officials with those from interior Sindh, suggesting a mafia-like control over the city’s administration. He stressed that after the 18th Amendment, it is the provincial government’s responsibility to solve problems like the water supply.

He expressed hope that the K-IV water project would be completed soon, noting that it was transferred from the provincial to the federal government due to the MQM’s efforts. Lastly, he issued a final warning to K-Electric, accusing it of acting like “a state within a state”. He warned that if K-Electric does not mend its ways, the MQM-P is prepared to take legal and constitutional action to fight for the rights of the people on all forums.