Foreign Minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Monday that Karachi will embark on a journey of progress and development as his party has won the local bodies elections in the city.
Speaking to the media after the oath-taking ceremony of Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui, Bilawal stated that “a city that could once be controlled through a phone call will now be developed as it has PPP in power now”.
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“Our struggle has been going on for the past many generations. We have delivered in the past and will deliver in the future as well,” he said. “We will develop every corner of the city. I urge citizens to give us 5 years and then raise questions on development.”
He added that property tax collected by the local government will be spent for the betterment of Karachi.
The foreign minister underlined that his government expanded the portfolio of Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects.
Earlier while taking oath as Karachi mayor, Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui said that he will serve Karachi and end politics of hatred.
JI rejects Karachi mayor election results, announces ‘black day’ on Friday
“I will follow Benazir Bhutto’s vision and I expect the people of Karachi to help us in return,” he said. “We will bring a change in Karachi.”
Wahab won Karachi’s mayoral election on Thursday, becoming the first elected chief of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) belonging to PPP.
The mayoral contest was between PPP candidate Barrister Murtaza Wahab and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman, as all the other candidates had withdrawn their nomination papers.
PPP’s Wahab elected mayor of Karachi
On the other hand, JI – which had carried out extensive election campaign during the last several months for the city’s Mayorship – rejected the results, declaring the ruling PPP’s conduct as ’unconstitutional and undemocratic.
It blamed PPP for not producing 31 elected UC chairman belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, despite ‘court’ orders.