KARACHI - Helping Karachi to get the constitutional status of megacity is the mission as well as election symbol of the Pasban and this time the Karachiites would cast vote in favour of the megacity, said Pasban-e-Pakistan President Altaf Shakoor on Monday.

Addressing a press conference here at the Karachi Press Club (KPC), he said that the Pasban is the pioneer in introducing the slogan of megacity Karachi and it is our mission to get the constitutional status for the megacity so that it could avail its due share of financial resources and enjoy a competent and professional megacity governance.

He said that the political parties whose did not serve Karachi despite ruling the city are now trying to adopt the megacity slogan. He said that these parties do not deserve to morally claim the ownership of the megacity slogan. However, if they are sincere to the cause of the megacity they should strengthen the hands of the Pasban.

Shakoor said that Karachi as a true megacity is the dream of youth of Karachi. He advised the professional political beggars not to misuse the slogan of megacity Karachi to befool the voters, as the voters already know that these spineless political parties despite being elected by several times did not serve Karachi.

The president said that the Pasban has already fielded three candidates for the national assembly and 11 for the provincial assembly from the megacity and none of them belongs to the feudal lords or elite class.

They are never involved in corruption, commission and kickbacks, land grabbing and China-cutting. They are not involved in extortion collection and crime and they do not drive costly luxury vehicles and live in palaces.

These true servants of the megacity Karachi are also not political horses so that they could be bought or sold. These brave people have the guts to take a firm stand for the rights and cause of the megacity.

These people would provide an alternate leadership to Karachi and get the constitutional status for megacity for it. He claimed that party success in the coming general elections would be a turning point for the megacity Karachi.

Shakoor said that corrupt feudal lords and looters of urban areas have already been seeing their defeat written on the wall, as the Pasban has become the first choice of the voters of megacity.

He said the Karachiites fully know that the so-called electable candidates have given nothing to them and their megacity. He said that the Pasban fully believes in increasing water storage capacity of the country.

“It has already been advocating for efficient irrigation and water saving methods. We also want to raise standard of education, healthcare and public transportation. We want a public university, an engineering college and a teaching hospital in every district of Pakistan. We want to create millions of new jobs for our youth by developing new industrial corridors,” the president said.

He said in this regard they have already floated the idea of developing industrial corridors and new industrials towns along Karachi-Hyderabad, and Karachi-Keti Bandar highways on the pattern of Delhi-Bombay Industrial Corridor Project in the neighboring countries. He said such industrial corridors should also be built in other provinces.

He said that the rulers have not only failed to resolve the problems of the masses, but they have also betrayed the daughter of the nation, Dr Aafia Siddiqui.

He said that the recent report of the Pakistani consul general in USA about shameful torture and harassment of Aafia is an eye-opener for the nation; however, the rulers had shamelessly tried to hide this report.

Pasban General Secretary Usman Moazzam, Vice President Tariq Chandiwalla and Karachi chapter president Abdul Hakim Quaid also spoke.