CJP should take notice of govt’s unfinished, faulty projects in Karachi, says PSP leader

Criticising the Centre and the Sindh government for not resolving Karachi’s long-standing issues, including the water scarcity, the Pak Sarzameen Party on Friday said they would not stay silent given the discriminatory attitude towards the residents of the metropolis.

PSP leader and former deputy mayor Dr Arshad Abdullah Vohra addressed a press conference at the Karachi Press Club. PSP’s other leaders – most of whom are former Muttahida Qaumi Movement leaders and lawmakers, including Syed Hafeez uddin, Bilqees Mukhtar, Abdullah Sheikh, Irteza Farooqi, Naila Munir, Muhammad Dilawar and Shiraz Waheed – accompanied Vohra.

The PSP leaders spoke about the city’s civic issues. They said the federal government was “just deceiving Karachiites through hollow promises” and mere lip service instead of taking practical measures.

“People of Karachi are longing for a drop of water,” said Vohra, lashing out at the Sindh government for “its rhetoric”. Stressing the government to immediately resolve the issue of water scarcity, the PSP leader said the K-IV project needed to be completed as soon as possible and Karachi should be provided its due share of water. “If done with good faith and good intention, the project can be completed within this tenure.”

The cost of the K-IV had increased ten times and Karachi was not even receiving the allotted 1200 MGD of water, he said. “In some areas of the city, there is no water for even weeks.”

He asked the government to show the media how many RO plants were currently operational in Karachi. He said that looking at the ruling party’s style of politics and discriminatory attitude, it seemed that Karachi was being destroyed intentionally and purposely.

Vohra urged the country’s chief justice to take immediate notice of the non-completion, time-barred and faulty completion of government projects in Karachi. “Too many experiments have been conducted at the cost of the people of Karachi and yet the city is on the verge of destruction,” he said.

He said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had 14 members of the National Assembly and 26 MPAs from this city. “Still none of them has talked about the water issue of Karachi in the respective assemblies.”

He added: “Instead of talking about any issues, the self-proclaimed representatives of the city give importance only to their ministries.” He warned that “the domicile corruption should be stopped all over the country, including Karachi, and an across-the-board accountability is necessary in this regard”.

“The PSP will not allow any rightful person to be robbed of their legitimate rights. Sindhis have the status of Ansaar for us, we are raising our voice against injustice with them too, the way we do for anyone else.”

Expressing deep sorrow and pain over the PIA plane crash and consequent loss of precious lives in Karachi, the PSP leader said that ironically the federal and the Sindh governments had started politics on this tragic accident too. “Grieving families still do not know who is responsible and who is to be contacted. All government rescue agencies have been destroyed; it was the government's job to carry out the rescue work.”

The fate of the Green Line was also hanging in the balance like that of the Peshawar BRT, said Vohra. “While there are 10 buses on the roads of Karachi which are being run by contractors, their petrol and maintenance is also being done with the money of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation.”

He said Karachi had been brought to the brink of disaster, as billions of rupees had been lost due to the closure of business centres. He demanded that an immediate relief package should be given to the traders. “The closure of the industry has made it difficult for the poor to earn a living”.

He added: “Under the very able leadership of Syed Mustafa Kamal, every worker of the PSP with the support of Karachiites are now ready to take every legal and constitutional route to get their due rights”

Former MPA Syed Hafeez-ud-Din accused the PPP and the PTI governments of having prejudices against Karachi, saying they had been destroying the city. “In the next few days, we will present the autopsy report of all government projects to the public.”