KARACHI: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Karachi chief Monem Zafar Khan on Saturday inaugurated an upgraded dispensary in Shanti Nagar (UC-7) of Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town. He said the party’s elected local representatives would keep serving citizens without discrimination, despite limited powers and scarce resources.
Addressing the ceremony, he accused the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led Sindh government of trying to escape its responsibility by handing the health and education sectors over to private entities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). He said that despite a provincial health budget of Rs393 billion, quality medical facilities were still largely absent in government hospitals and clinics.
Later, he also inaugurated a “model neighbourhood” at Masjid Siddiq-i-Akbar Chowk in Block 19 (UC-8). District East chief Naeem Akhtar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town Chairman Dr Fawad Ahmed, religious and social figure Saeeduddin and UC-8 Vice Chairman Asif Abdul Karim also spoke on the occasion. Vice Town Chairman Ibrahim Siddiqui and Information Secretary Zahid Askari were also present.
Monem Zafar said that besides healthcare, JI-run towns were rehabilitating parks and playgrounds, rebuilding government schools, laying paver blocks in streets and installing streetlights. He noted that the Sindh government had not released a single rupee to these towns under development funds.
Speaking about the new facility, he said Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town had turned a dilapidated clinic in Shanti Nagar into a modern medical centre. It has an FCPS-qualified doctor, ultrasound services and other diagnostic facilities. Citizens receive consultation for a nominal fee of Rs5, along with affordable medicines, regardless of race, colour or religion. He added that more than 38,000 patients had benefited over the past year from a similar basic health unit set up in Samanabad, Block 18 of Gulberg Town.
Challenging the PPP’s local administrations to match these welfare initiatives, he said education and healthcare were fundamental rights and primary obligations of the state. “The people of Karachi pay taxes, yet in the past, public money went into the pockets of a select few instead of being spent on the city, reducing it to ruins,” he remarked. He added that primary healthcare at the doorstep spares citizens exhausting trips to major tertiary hospitals.
The JI Karachi chief also criticised K-Electric, saying the utility had received a Rs164 billion subsidy this year, yet several neighbourhoods still endured up to 18 hours of loadshedding. “Catching power thieves is K-Electric’s responsibility, not the public’s. Why are bill-paying citizens being punished?” he asked.
He also lamented that the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line project had entered its sixth year with no completion in sight. Urging residents to take part in community development, he asked locals to appoint a “street councillor” for every lane in their blocks to help resolve civic issues more effectively.
Earlier, Town Chairman Dr Fawad Ahmed recalled that commuting through Block 19 of Gulshan-i-Iqbal was once an ordeal, but sustained development work had replaced public despair with hope. He said 22 roads covering about 200,000 square feet had been built in Block 19 with the cooperation of area residents.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026