Giving an ambiguous statement about Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah's visit to Islamabad on Wednesday, Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab said that while the CM was not interested in visiting Islamabad, he could do so to "decide on a solution for a problem."
Addressing a press conference, he, however, added that whatever solution was devised for Karachi's issues, it had to be in accordance with the law.
He also spoke about the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) being assigned the cleaning of nullahs, maintaining that when the Centre had allocated the task, it should also release funds for the purpose.
Wahab went on to say that those who blame the Sindh government for handing over authority to the NDMA must realise the it was the judiciary, not the provincial government, that gave the NDMA the responsibility for cleaning Karachi's nullahs.
He claimed that the NDMA was instructed to clean just 60 per cent to 65 per cent of the three drains in Karachi, at which the provincial government told the court that they had already cleaned the stated area. "But the court still did not allow us to take up the task [of cleaning the remainder]."
Besides, Wahab also criticised the Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf- led federal government for failing to live up to its promises.
"The mafia close to Prime Minister Imran Khan has benefitted the most" during the two-year tenure of the incumbent government, he alleged, going on to compare the prices of various commodities in August, 2018, and August, 2020, to show rising inflation.
He added that the country's gross domestic product had also declined and 58 per cent people had been deprived of jobs. "In just two years, businessmen have become paupers," he remarked.
Moreover, he added, the circular debt had also increased significantly, in contradiction to the PM's earlier vow to not approach the International Monetary Fund for financial assistance.
He further claimed that of Rs162 billion promised for Karachi by the PM, not a single penny had been released, while the PTI failed to complete any of the major projects during its two years at the helm.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2020.
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