KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi chief Engr Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has decried that the megacity Karachi was missing from the agenda of ongoing dialogue between the Pakistan People Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.
Addressing a press conference here Saturday, he said that Karachiites would not tolerate the division of the resources of Karachi between the PPP and the MQM. Replacement of one ‘political and illegal’ administrator with another political and illegal administrator would not be tolerated, he said.
The PPP should not create obstacles for Karachiites in connection with electing their representatives in the local government as it claims itself of being a democratic party, he said.
Naeemur Rehman alleged that the PPP and the MQM had ruined Karachi in the past and both the parties are once again mulling to repeat the history for their vested interests. He recalled that the MQM was a part of the provincial government in 2013 when the then Sindh government had deprived the local bodies of their powers through the infamous local government act but the same MQM didn’t react just for the sake of its perks and privileges.
Talking about the PPP, he said alleged that it was a ‘fascist’ party of landlords. He said that PPP supremo Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had chanted the mantra of people for more than one hour while delivering his speech on the anniversary of the party but he doesn’t respond to the question that why the PPP government in Sindh is reluctant to devolve powers to the grassroots level of democracy.
Gone are the days when the MQM used to hijack elections on gunpoint, he said. He demanded of the PPP to shun the practice of ‘hiring’ other political parties for their own nefarious designs.
He highlighted the issues of DJ Science College and Islamia College, demanding the government to put its house in order and play with the educational future of Karachiites. Education and literacy represents Karachi and Karachiites, he said, adding that no one would be allowed to jeopardize the education sector for monetary gains.
JI leaders Osama Razi, Munim Zaffar, Raja Arif Sultan, Saleem Azhar, Zahid Askari and Sohaib Ahmed were also present.