JI criticises Sindh govt for failing to address rain-related problems

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Saturday criticised the Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindh government for “failing to handle the situation of Karachi during the ongoing heavy monsoon downpours”, which had resulted in the “inundated roads, severed sewerage system and failure of the power supply system” and had tormented the citizens.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, Idara Noor-e-Haq, Rehman said that the rains in Karachi had flushed out the cosmetic measures and governmental announcements over cleaning rain drains and preparedness.

“Plundering of development budget worth Rs5,000 billion during the past 14 years, fake packages of Rs1,100 billion, and misleading claims and announcements made by the Sindh government and the political administrator in Karachi have contributed to increasing the mental pain of Karachiites,” he said.

He said that the rains had badly affected a lot number of areas, including Orangi Town, Mahmood Nullah, Gujjar Nullah, and Surjani Town.

“The government made towering claims about Sharea Faisal and University Road, but a normal spall of rain has created havoc on both the roads,” he said.

The JI leader demanded of the government to declare emergency in rain-affected areas. He also said 11 rain emergency centres had already been established to handle the situation.

He lambasted the political parties in Sindh and highlighted their role when it came to Karachi and Karachiites.

He also highlighted the dual standards of the federal government for the citizens in Punjab and Sindh. He said that a major relief was announced in electricity bills for customers in Punjab but there was no relief for the people in Sindh.

Similarly, the Pakistan Muslime League-Nawaz showed dual standards while handling the issue of metro busses in Karachi and elsewhere in Punjab.

Talking about electricity crises, he said a large number of high-ups in Sindh and the centre are hand in glove with the K-Electric in “its white collar crime”. He reiterated his demand for a forensic audit of the private firm’s accounts.

He also asked the government to ensure cleanliness on the auspicious occasion of Eidul Azha.

‘Remove Murtaza’

Rehman, speaking at a press conference, demanded replacing the PPP's administrator in Karachi, Murtaza Wahab, with an apolitical administrator to ensure free and fair local bodies elections in the city.

“The political administrator of a city even after the announcement of the schedule for local bodies elections is tantamount to pre-poll rigging and abduction of the electoral process. By any means, there is no room for Murtaza Wahab to continue as an administrator of the city in the prevailing scenario,” he said on Friday.

Rehman said that apart from the zero performance of Wahab, he should be removed from the office because his continuation in the office had no legitimate grounds, and it was against the political ethics, constitution, and rules and regulations as well as democratic norms and values.

The JI leader also lambasted the Election Commission of Pakistan for not taking any notice of the situation and dubbed its Sindh chapter as an extension of the Pakistan Peoples Party. He said the higher judiciary was supposed to take notice of the situation when the ECP was unable to do so.

He recalled that there are 64 medium rain drains in Karachi, besides five big ones and hundreds of arteries, whereas the last budget shows an allocation of Rs1.20 billion for the cleanliness of these drains. The rain drains are full of filth but I would like Murtaza Wahab to explain how much funds have been utilized to clean the drains, he added.

Unfortunately, both the water supply and its drainage have become big problems in the city, he said, adding that a large number of neighborhoods in the city are supplied water through pipelines once in a month and even two in some areas. The water supply system was shattered in the city to bolster the water tanker mafia, he added. He further said that a just formula for water distribution in the city was the need of the hour.

He also expressed deep concerns over gerrymandering for the local bodies' elections and particularly asked the MQM to explain its current viewpoint on the issue as before joining the coalition government with the PPP, the MQM had launched a campaign against unjust delimitations in the city.

On the occasion, while responding to a question, he said that the JI in principle opposes the inclusion of the army in the electoral process and favours limiting the role of the army to maintain law and order during elections.