Solving Karachi’s problems should be priority: Waseem Akhtar

Mayor Karachi says a petition has been filed in top court regarding devolution of powers

KARACHI: Karachi is feeding the entire country and the solution of its problems should be a priority, claimed city Mayor Wasim Akhtar on Monday.

Inaugurating the Chrysanthemum Flower Show in Central district on Monday, Akhtar said that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan had come to an agreement with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government in order to find solutions for the city's problems.

"Many meetings were held in this regard, but not a single segment of our plans was implemented," he stated. "The problems of Karachi were not a priority for the federal or provincial governments, and that is why we quit the federal government."

The mayor said that district municipal administrations were promoting public activities such as the flower show, but the city's problems remained unresolved. "Basic issues can be solved by providing resources to the district administrations," he claimed.

He said that they had filed a petition in the Supreme Court regarding the powers of local government bodies, adding that they expected an early decision on it.

Regarding Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's offer for the MQM-P to leave the federal government and join hands with the PPP, he said that the PPP leader had made the offer on seeing an available opportunity. "But the PPP has been ruling here for 12 years and they did not need us to solve the concerns of the people," he added. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2020.