Pakistan Markazi Muslim League coverts election offices to relief centres

Heavy rainfall in Karachi has exposed the inefficiencies of the administration and municipal authorities, said Pakistan Markazi Muslim League President Ahmed Nadeem Awan.

Speaking at the rescue operation site, Awan said PMML has converted its election offices into rescue centres in the city. Workers of the PMML rescued citizens stranded in floodwaters at various locations in the city.

On self-help basis, PMML workers responded to the call to help people in distress as a religious obligation and a service in the way of Allah Almighty. They pushed stranded vehicles out of flooded roads, and helped people reach safe places. Moreover, mechanics in PMML fold braved cold and wet weather to start stranded vehicles free of cost, a service which may cost thousands of rupees in emergency situations.

Read: PPP faces backlash amidst Karachi's heavy rain woes

Along with extracting submerged vehicles, the blocked water supply lines were also opened. The process of pumping out the accumulated water through suction pumps is ongoing. Inhabitants of low-lying areas were also provided with cooked meals during the rescue operation.

Awan stated that the authorities are engaged in a power struggle, and Karachi is sinking. Besides a limited area, the administration failed to take any noteworthy action. Mayor Karachi should know that Karachi is inundated not only on Shahra-e-Faisal but also in other areas.

The party that has held control over Sindh for the past 15 years remains unable to provide a proper drainage system to the people of Karachi. Those asking for votes from the public with the threat of drowning Karachi should be questioned. Now is the time for the public to reject the incompetent ones and use the power of their vote for a cleansing of the incapable.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2024.