KARACHI - Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) General Secretary Ameerul Azeem said on Sunday said that his party’s “Karachi ko Izzat do” (Give respect to Karachi) campaign was tipping point of its struggle against the corrupt leadership and parties, which failed to serve the masses despite coming to power again and again.
“We will be raising our voice against those in the federal, provincial and local governments from the city because they are not having city’s issues resolved and Karachiites’ rights protected,” he said while addressing a JI rally in the New MA Jinnah Road area.
He said that in the past people of the city successfully foiled attempts to create a civil war-like situation in the city. “Those who remained in power from the city sold out health, education, electricity and other utilities of the city instead of serving the masses,” Azeem said, adding that the incumbent rulers who had a big mandate from the city were paying just lip service to city’s problems by making task forces and taking U-turns on key projects of the city rather than implementing them.
The JI general secretary said that they had brought IMF to the country and were now taking dictations from them to formulate country’s policies. “The idea of creation of Riasat-e-Madina has become a mere slogan and the masses are suffering due to IMF-led economic policies of the government,” he said. Speaking on the occasion, JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem said the federal government, despite having electoral mandate from the city, was running away from taking responsibility for hospitals and had handed them over to the province again.
He lashed out at PSP Chairman Mustafa Kamal for claiming he could complete K-IV water project for city in three years and asked as to why he was unable to complete it during his four-year tenure of mayorship when they were part of the federal government.
“The chief minister should answer as to why the K-IV project was not completed despite his party renaming in power in the province for 11 consecutive years,” he said and added that it was only JI mayor Naimatullah who completed K-III project and laid paperwork for the KI-V project.
He said the MQM-P raised hue and cry for more powers for the local bodies but it should tell what sort of powers it needed to lift garbage from the city. He said the prime minister announced Rs162 billion uplift projects for Karachi, but these projects were nowhere on the agenda.
“Karachi neither has better road infrastructure nor public transport,” he said adding that youth was jobless in the city as thousands of government jobs were sold out to loved ones rather than giving on merit. “We will continue our struggle for the rights of the city unless we succeed in our mission to secure due rights for city,” he said.