KARACHI: A meeting of three major political stakeholders of Karachi – Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) – has taken place wherein issues plaguing the port city were discussed.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Local Government and Information Minister Nasir Hussain Shah, Education Minister Saeed Ghani, and Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar attended the meeting. Governor Sindh Imran Ismail, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi, and National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal were also in attendance.
Issues of potable water shortage, rickety sewerage system, and public transport came under discussion. The participants discussed working out a joint strategy to clean Karachi’s stormwater drains, develop civic infrastructure and remove encroachments.
The leaders of the three main political parties having stakes in Karachi also deliberated on uplift schemes. They lauded the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) role in cleaning main nullahs of the city.
The participants expressed concern over the city’s abysmal situation and agreed to work together for Karachi’s restoration to its former glory, economic progress, and resolution of all its problems.
The PPP, PTI and MQM-P leaders reached an agreement to push ahead with the megacity’s development by ironing out a joint strategy. Over the course of the meeting, they put forth their proposals for Karachi’s development. They also talked about empowering local governments in the province.
It was decided in the meetings to form an advisory committee and a liaison committee to solve the metropolis’ problems.
MQM-P’s Aamir Khan in a tweet said that Karachi’s problems cannot be solved without giving full authority to its locals.
“The problem of Karachi cannot be solved until the local people have full authority. This will only be possible when new provinces are established across the country including Karachi,” he said. – TLTP