FIRs and diatribe against Karachiites unacceptable, says JI leader

Saifuddin Advocate, the Jamaat-e-Islami’s acting emir for the party’s Karachi chapter, has censured the city’s mayor over his allegedly controversial statements against Karachiites, and for filing a case against residents over releasing water from tankers in protest against the prolonged crises in the metropolis.

The JI leader, who is also the opposition leader in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) city council, was responding to Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab’s press conference.

He claimed that the Pakistan People Party (PPP) leadership is frustrated over development in nine towns of the city being run by the JI. He said the JI has been affecting the nerves of the mayor. As a result, he added, Wahab criticises the JI all the time.

He also claimed that the mayor unfortunately does not have the mandate or ethical grounds to occupy his office, and that Wahab has no vision to run the city, while the relationship between the PPP and corruption is an open secret.

The JI leader said that filing a case against protesters for releasing valves of a water tanker during a protest against the prolonged crises, and the diatribe against Karachiites are “shameful acts on the PPP government’s part”. He termed it “unacceptable”.

He said that lodging FIRs against protesters but taking no action against troublemakers demonstrates the “hypocrisy of the PPP leadership”.

“Why was there no FIR against those who leaked the 84-inch-diameter water supply line? Why was there no FIR against those who are responsible for water crisis in the mega city? Why was there no FIR against K-Electric for broken lines?”

He claimed that the PPP’s new edition is a compound of fascism, corruption and politics of interests. He also claimed that on the one hand the PPP depends on Benazir Bhutto’s death for its politics, while on the other, the party bulldozes all limits to sabotage the democratic process.

He said he has no personal grudge against the mayor, but the PPP leader needs to know that his party carries a backlog of 16 long years of rule over the province.

The mayor is the chairman of the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation as well as the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board, so he is directly responsible for the prevailing water crisis and the garbage scattered all over the city, he added.

The JI leader said that 106 major roads and 44 main storm water drains that fall under the ambit of the KMC are in a shambles. He also held the PPP responsible for alleged discrimination against Karachiites when it comes to releasing funds.

A few days ago, Saifuddin had termed the Free and Fair Election Network’s (Fafen) report on the 2024 general elections misleading stating that the document is based on the flawed statistics based on Form 47.

Responding to a Fafen report that was issued in connection with the 2024 elections, he said the 2024 general elections were rigged and selected candidates were imposed on the nation with the help of the Form 47 issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

He added that the Form 45 duly signed by all parties present at the polling stations were neglected by the authorities just to manipulate the results. He said Fafen had dented its own reputation by issuing an analysis that relied on the Form 47 statistics. The JI leader said his party rejected the misleading report and would write a letter to Fafen asking it to withdraw its report.

Although the general elections were rigged across the country, the situation in Karachi was particularly bad, he said, adding that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) candidates failed to poll majority votes at any single polling station but still the party was granted a large number of seats.

Similarly, he maintained, the Pakistan Peoples Party was an unpopular party among the Karachiites due to its anti-Karachi policies but it was also given seats of the National Assembly. He said that earlier, the local government elections had been rigged and a minority party was allowed to have its mayor. He said the ruling regime had no moral grounds to continue their rule and the days for the Form 47 government were numbered.