Resolving issues: Peace in Karachi a priority, says Mamnoon

Says presidency will not to be used for politics.

Newly elected head of state Mamnoon Hussain has pledged that his first priority as president is to resolve the law and order situation in Karachi.

Speaking in an interview with BBC Urdu, Mamnoon said: “Whenever I wish for peace in the country, Karachi is what comes to my mind first. It is my city and I am very well aware of the objective situation of the metropolitan.”

Among other things that top his list of priorities, the newly elected president said he wished to travel to India to visit the Taj Mahal.

He said, “Being president I feel that I am the symbol of the federation. My desire is that I should be able to solve any problem that arises between the provinces. In the past,we saw provinces fighting over water-related issues, my effort will be to play my role in resolving such issues.”

Hussain said that he wants every citizen to feel that he is their president.

The president-elect, who won the July 30 election by 432 votes, said he would resign from his party membership. However, he accepted that he had not done so yet. In response to a question, Mamnoon said that he wished most for his city, Karachi. “The megacity needs to be paid much attention as it runs the entire country,” he said. “Karachi is important, not just because of its contribution to the economy but it is an essential part from every aspect,” he added.

“No full-fledged effort has been made to eradicate crimes from the city or against the criminals, extortionists and land-grabbers. Improvement cannot be brought in such a situation unless political patronage is stopped and such elements are dealt with sternly.”

He said that the solution lies in providing intelligence agencies a new platform and ensuring that political parties withdraw their support for criminals. The PML-N leader said he will do his utmost to ensure that the presidency is not used for any kind of politics, adding that the only reason behind the presidency misusing its authority was because the president was a political agent.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2013.