HYDERABAD: Former Sindh minister Khalil Ahmed Nainitalwala on Sunday expressed his concern over the pathetic civic conditions in Hyderabad and offered his contribution towards its beautification.

Speaking to media men at the local press club, he recalled that while being a provincial mister 15 years back, he got 13 roundabouts in the city developed but hardly any of them now existed in its original shape.

He said that he had spent millions of rupees on the beautification of Rani Bagh but today it was in a deplorable state. He said he was willing to contribute towards beautification of Hyderabad and its social sector but he would require cooperation of elected representatives of local government (LG) from the city.

He said a proper planning was needed which could be done with the cooperation of LG institutions and those who claimed to be the city’s owners.

“Hyderabad is Sindh’s important city but today government departments don’t want the private sector and people like him to playing their role in the city’s development and beautification,” he said.

He said that until only a few years back, people avoided visiting Hyderabad due to a law and order situation here. “Since conditions have now remarkably changed, I have also come here,” he said.

The former minister, who is a prominent industrialist, pointed out that the business and trade community had contributed a lot to Karachi’s health and education sectors.

“It’s due to the community’s cooperation, selfless services of many charity organisations and generosity of philanthropists that encouraged government to resolve issues being faced by ordinary citizens. Otherwise, he observed, government institutions by and large were not performing.

Mr Nainitalwala said that he and his family members had voted for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) after being impressed by its ‘Tabdeeli (change)’ narrative although they did not even know Ali Zaidi, the party’s candidate of from the consitituency where they [the Nainitalwala family] lived. “But we are utterly disappointed over the present government’s performance,” he said, adding that he and people like him had voted for the PTI because all others had already been tested.

He observed that the present government destroyed every institution it had touched so far and this seemed to be the only ‘tabdeeli’ witnessed till today.

He remarked that “[Prime Minister and PTI chief] Imran Khan is a huge name in cricket but he has destroyed even basic cricket”. He pointed out that the Niaz Stadium that had hosted the 1987 World Cup inaugural match stood destroyed. He said people had pinned hoped in Imran Khan that he would extricate the country from crises but now everyone had lost the hope in view of his government’s performance.

“Mr Khan should realise that he lacks the potential to deliver, as such, he should quit [as PM] and hand over government to some able person,” the former minister opined.

He claimed that unscrupulous elements within the government were being protected and when such people keep surrounding a person like a prime minister, then no good could be expected from institutions.

He also pointed out that chairman of the FBR (Federal Bureau of Revenues) had left but his decisions that proved disastrous [for the national economy] had not been reversed yet.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2020