PSP chief wants emergency declared in city

Mustafa Kamal demands the mayor be placed on ECL, turns to army for help

KARACHI: Pak Sarzameen Party Chairperson Syed Mustafa Kamal demanded on Wednesday that Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar's name be placed on the Exit Control List for the devastation of Karachi.

Addressing a press conference along with PSP President Anees Qaimkhani and other party leaders at Pakistan Secretariat, Kamal said he believes that the move would help recover public money which has been plundered.

"Instead of calling Prime Minister Imran Khan, I will invite the most influential, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa, who is also a member of the economic committee, to intervene and save Karachiites by declaring an emergency and granting special status to the port city," said Kamal. "The city contributes Rs3,000 billion in revenue to the national exchequer," he added.

The former city nazim pointed out that it has been 10 days since Eidul Azha but the waste and offals of sacrificial animals are still on the roads creating health issues.

"Why should Karachi be handed over to the federal government. Are they doing a very good job?" asked Kamal. "Karachi should be looked after by Karachiites. It needs loyal and sincere leadership to resolve its crises," he said. Karachi generates 73 per cent of revenue, said Kamal. "Cleanliness of the entire country is being done from money generated in this city. But the federal government is begging for the 'Clean Karachi' campaign," he added.

Asking for the army to step in, Kamal said that the federal, provincial and city administration had failed and now they were blaming each other. He added that Karachi with its two seaports nurtures the entire country but its filthy state had left as many as 8,000 people hospitalised in the days following Eidul Azha. According to Kamal, the mayor was not bothered about Karachi despite being 80 per cent responsible for the lifting of garbage and 100 per cent responsible for cleaning drains. He dubbed the 'Clean Karachi' campaign as "eyewash" and said that the Pakistan Army was a stakeholder in Karachi with its six cantonment boards. He requested the army chief to pay frequent visits to the city and steer it out of the crisis.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2019.