100-day plan: JI pledges to support mayor in his bid to revive Karachi

Wasim Akhtar meets party leaders on Thursday, vows to work for people

KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi’s leadership assured the mayor of Karachi on Thursday that they will stand with him in every step he takes for the betterment of the city.

“We extend our full support to the mayor in all the positive measures that he will take for Karachi,” said JI Karachi’s chief, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, while briefing the media about the meeting with the mayor and his team at JI’s headquarters, Idara Noor-e-Haq, on Thursday.

Akhtar’s visit was part of his attempt to soften the image of his party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and reconcile with former rivals. He has met other political parties such as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Awami National Party (ANP), asking them to work for the revival of the city.

“We have an opportunity to change this city into a better place and we are trying our best to make Karachi a cleaner place to live in,” said Akhtar after the meeting. He added that all the political parties - the Pakistan Peoples Party, ANP, PTI and now JI - have extended their support towards his initiative.



He said that in the past, conflicting policies and differences of opinion may have caused the political parties to fight but it is overwhelming to see all of them on the same page to make Karachi better in 100 days.

“It is sad to see that people in Karachi now do not ask for jobs but demand cleanliness of the city,” he said, adding that they have their own team of workers who are ready to serve the city. During the meeting, Akhtar told Rehman that they have initiated the 100-day plan in three districts and will extend the plan in the three remaining districts soon. He added that elected representatives should approach him if they feel there is need for any modification or something better can be done in the plan to revive the city.

“We should learn from our past mistakes and should keep helping each other,” he said, inviting other political parties to step up and point out shortcomings in the plan.

Answering a question whether he will also approach the Pak Sarzameen Party to join hands in the campaign, he said that he is only going for alliances with political parties. He referred to a recent tweet by MQM-London that urged people to let the mayor work for the city and said it is just a good gesture. No one can stop us from working for the city and if anyone stops or creates hurdles for us, the people will handle them themselves, he said.

“If he is fighting for Karachi’s betterment, in terms of roads, water system, sewerage issues and empowering the people, then JI is standing with him at every step,” said Rehman. He added that Karachi is a city that has its own traditions because of the huge population and requires a multidimensional approach. “We will discuss the points, which we have issues with, with the MQM if Farooq Sattar will pay us a visit someday.” Rehman added that Akhtar’s visit was specifically for local government issues.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2016.