Shallwani fumbles at first presser as Karachi administrator

Irked by media questions, newly appointed Karachi administrator walks out of the press conference

KARACHI:

Newly appointed Karachi administrator Iftikhar Shallwani left the first press conference of his tenure midway after reporters fired questions at him, critical of his performance as the former city commissioner, on Wednesday.

At the press conference, media persons questioned Shallwani over the persistent rise in milk prices while he was Karachi commissioner and the city administration's inability to comply with the Supreme Court's orders at the time.

However, instead of giving relevant answers, the city administrator tried to evade the questions. "These are matters of the past. Let's forget them and talk about the future," he remarked.

Media persons, however, insisted that he answered, as they posed more queries. At this, Shallwani was infuriated and left the press conference.

Shallwani - a Grade-21 official who had recently been posted as the local government secretary - has been appointed as the Karachi administrator after the Sindh government issued a notification to appoint administrators in local government bodies across the province on Monday.

Newly appointed Administrator Karachi, @Shallwani walked out of the presser without responding to media queries! pic.twitter.com/ef2QNs2xcM

— Naimat Khan (@NKMalazai) September 9, 2020