KMC responsible for cleaning city, not us, says Ismail

Governor hints at thawing of relations with MQM-P as PM visits Karachi today

KARACHI: The Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) is responsible for cleaning the city, stated Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Sunday, adding that all he could do was to give suggestions to the agency.

He expressed these views while talking to the media after distributing blankets to impoverished families at Punjab Ground in Shah Faisal Colony. He was accompanied by MNA Fahim Khan, his wife and others.

Ismail further claimed that eliminating encroachments from the city and providing alternative accommodation or employment to those evicted in anti-encroachment campaigns was the responsibility of the city mayor.

Discussing the relationship between the federal government and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), he said that despite the resignation of MQM-P convenor Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui from his federal ministry, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) still had good relations with the other party.

“MQM-P is an ally and will remain so,” he asserted, adding that there could be progress in matters relating to the party with Prime Minister Imran Khan visiting the metropolis today (Monday). “The issues should be resolved through mutual understanding.”

Informing the media about Khan’s schedule for his visit, he said that the PM would arrive in Karachi at 2:30pm and have lunch with him and a number of MPAs. In a meeting at the Governor House, he will be briefed about federal projects pertaining to the metropolis, while the organisation of the PTI in Sindh will also be discussed.

Following this, Khan would meet Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and then representatives of traders associations. Ismail said that the prime minister would also distribute loan cheques to applicants from across Sindh for the Kamyab Nojawan project, and then attend a fund-raising ceremony for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital.

He is also scheduled to meet Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) chief Pir Pagara at Kingri House, where both leaders are to discuss the political situation of the country and the GDA’s concerns.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2020.