KARACHI, March 7: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Monday claimed that launching of the first phase of the Karachi Circular Railway by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Tuesday was the outcome of the efforts the MQM had been making on the directives of its founder, Altaf Hussain.

The MQM coordination committee's deputy convenor, Dr Farooq Sattar, who is also the party's parliamentary leader in the National Assembly, told a news conference at the Karachi Press Club that this cheapest mode of transportation played very important role ever since its early days. Karachiites, he added, benefited from it the most.

However, he observed, due to corruption, mismanagement and lack of proper planning by bureaucracy and successive governments, the KCR went into red and it was so declared by the corrupt elements, depriving the people of a swift and cheap mode of travel.

He pointed out that soon after becoming part of the present government, the MQM had given top priority to the revival of KCR and a mass-transit system for the metropolis. He said that a committee was being formed by the party for working out modalities for improving the dormant transportation system.

It may be pointed out that this mode of travel had been delayed for long due the axis between transporters, corrupt bureaucrats and, in some case, builder mafia. In November last year, the prime minister had appointed a task force with the directives to revive the KCR within three months, and sufficient funds were also made available by the federal government for the purpose.