PM Imran to arrive in Karachi today on his shortest visit yet

The PM will hold meetings with political partners, party leaders, business community

KARACHI: Prime Minister Imran Khan will arrive in the port city today (Friday) on his shortest visit since he took charge as the premier, with his party leaders expectant of some relief for their supporters in the metropolis on the occasion.

PM Khan will preside over meetings with different stakeholders, members of the business community, politicians and Sindh-based Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders. However, he will not be meeting leaders from the provincial government.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the prime minister will chair a meeting of the Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Limited (SIDCL). "Khan sahab will be briefed about the overall progress of the projects funded by the federal government," disclosed a PTI leader. He added that the premier will separately hold meetings with representatives of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Karachi Stock Exchange.

Benefits for the people

"We are expecting PM Khan to expand the Sehat Insaf Card (SIC) programme to other parts of the province," the PTI leader told The Express Tribune. He said that during the premier's visit to Tharparkar in March, the SIC had been announced for the people of the desert area. "The Sindh government does not support this programme in Sindh," he pointed out. "The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government has shown reservations over its name [Insaf]," he laughed, adding that the people of Sindh would be able to benefit from the programme if the provincial government agreed to support it.

According to the PTI leadership in Karachi, Khan will also discuss the K-IV water project and reverse osmosis (RO) plants. They hoped that the premier would announce a significant project for the people of the province.

Meetings with political partners

Meanwhile, PM Khan will hold separate meetings with his political partners, including the leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), to discuss various matters relating to development projects.

According to sources, a four-member committee, which includes federal defence minister Pervez Khattak, former finance minister Asad Umar and Jahangir Tareen, will also hold separate meetings with MQM-P, GDA, and PTI leaders prior to their meetings with the prime minister.

PTI's parliamentary leader in the Sindh Assembly, Haleem Adil Sheikh said that the premier will hold meetings with leaders belonging to PTI Karachi and PTI Hyderabad. He added that all PTI public representatives would also meet PM Khan, while separate meetings with MQM-P and GDA were expected as well.

"There will be no meetings with any leaders of the provincial government," Sheikh mentioned, adding that Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had been invited. "But Shah has already scheduled his engagements in Rawalpindi."

Sheikh added that the prime minister was to attend the marriage ceremony of Asad Umar's son.

GDA denies meeting call

Interestingly, the GDA leadership was unaware of PM Khan's arrival in the provincial capital. "I don't know if Khan sahab is scheduled to visit Karachi," said GDA secretary-general Ayaz Latif Palijo. "I was not informed by anyone so I cannot confirm our meeting with the prime minister."

While talking to the media outside the Quaid's mausoleum on Wednesday, CM Shah had similarly said that he was unaware of the prime minister's arrival, adding that he would be willing to receive him at the airport as part of his job. The majority of PPP's leadership, however, is scheduled to be in Rawalpindi today to commemorate the 12th death anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Meanwhile, Sindh Minister for Information, Archives and Labour Saeed Ghani told The Express Tribune that PM Khan used to take the Sindh government on-board regarding meetings and development projects in Sindh during his initial visits to the province in his tenure. "Now, for the last year or so, they do not inform us about any meetings or call us to attend them," he claimed.