KARACHI: Key opposition parties in Sindh on Wednesday lashed out at the provincial government of the Pakistan Peoples Party over its poor performance and failure in meeting the challenge of the monsoon rains despite being in command for the past 12 years.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Jamaat-i-Islami and Pak Sarzameen Party strongly criticised the PPP-led Sindh government for creating a worst of its kind municipal and administrative crisis in the country’s commercial capital.

Speaking at a press conference at the PTI’s Insaf House headquarters, city president and MPA Khurrum Sher Zaman said that the PPP government in Sindh had completely failed to deal with the current emergency situation and its consistent incompetence had caused widespread devastations to the infrastructure of the entire province.

Accompanied by MNA Aftab Siddiqui and MPAs Jamal Siddiqui and Arsalan Taj, he said the Sindh chief minister had not yet visited the victims in Yousuf Goth, Surjani Town.

PTI MNA demands audit of DHA Karachi

“Sindh is sinking due to the incompetent PPP’s chief minister,” he said. “Incompetent and failed PPP ministers must tell us what they have done in the past 12 years? They have only promoted china-cutting and you can witness it along the Malir river. Who is responsible for this disaster? Who would ask the Malir PPP leaders about their properties and assets worth billions of rupees? Our MPA in Malir stays up all night to help victims of the Malir river.”

He said that there was no flooding outside the CM House and Bilawal House, which showed the level of priority of the administration under the PPP government.

MNA Siddiqui also criticised the performance of cantonment boards and called the areas under their administration worst affected.

“The condition of cantonment areas is worse than other parts of Karachi,” he said. “The DHA and Clifton cantonments have been completely devastated. There is massive corruption in the institution. The DHA is also in Lahore but the situation there is different from Karachi. These institutions should be audited. People in my constituency are worried. There’s no checks and balances.”

JI slams PPP, PTI, MQM-P

The Jamaat-i-Islami criticised the performance of the PPP government, but equally blamed the PTI, the ruling party at the centre, and its coalition partner Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) for the problems of the city.

“Karachi is facing a worst-ever municipal and administrative crisis,” city chief of JI Hafiz Naeem ur Rahman said while talking to reporters after reviewing the relief and rescue activities by JI’s welfare wing Al-Khidmat.

“The PPP is not alone. The PTI and MQM are equally responsible for this crisis. All the three parties [PPP, PTI and MQM-P] are blaming each other but it would not work. It can’t be a face saving. You would find people in the street and market blaming these parties for the Karachi’s situation. If it’s needed to be fixed, it should have been done through the true Karachi forces. These three parties have proved that they are incompetent and corrupt. They can’t represent Karachi.”

PSP seeks centre’s intervention

Pak Sarzameen Party chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal said on Wednesday that the federal government should intervene in Karachi as problems of this city could never be resolved until the rulers were not awaken from deep slumber of negligence.

He said that the federal government should ensure devolution of powers from provinces to district in line with the 18th Amendment, launch of the provincial finance commission award on the pattern of the national finance commission awards and to restore Karachi as one district with towns to run administrative affairs so that the unity of the city was maintained.

Mr Kamal said Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah under some illusion had been given an impression for the past one month that he had made Karachi much better compared to what it was 10 years before. “In such circumstances, even if one wants to give a sincere advice for the betterment of this city he can’t,” he said while talking to the party’s student wing here at Pakistan House.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2020