Khurrum Sher Zaman accuses mayor of removing encroachments of only poor

Dismissing the impression that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf instigated or was supporting the ongoing anti-encroachment drive in Karachi, PTI Karachi President Khurrum Sher Zaman on Wednesday termed the drive ‘revenge’ that was being enacted on the people of Karachi on the pretext of carrying out the Supreme Court’s (SC) orders.

Addressing a press conference at his party’s secretariat Insaf House, Zaman, who is also an MPA from PS-110, said the PTI had been raising voice against the injustice being done to the people of Karachi as attempts were being made under the cover of the anti-encroachment drive to deprive them of their homes and businesses. “Revenge is being taken on Karachi,” he said.

The PTI Karachi president claimed that the party’s elected representatives from the city had held a meeting on the issue and requested Sindh Governor Imran Ismail to raise the matter with Prime Minister Imran Khan. “[Because of this] the PM has asked the attorney general to file a review petition on the SC’s anti-encroachment orders,” he said.

Zaman appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to consider the review petition on humanitarian grounds and asked him to depute a Nazir who should look into the wrongdoings during the drive and inform the court about it. He also requested the court to take notice of the China-cutting on the parks and amenity plots of the city.

Taking a jibe at Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar who is affiliated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), the PTI Karachi president said Akhtar did not even touch the ‘illegal’ projects of former MQM senator Babar Ghori and only removed encroachments of poor people. “We accept the SC order but it is being misused for ulterior political motives,” Zaman said, asking the Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindh government to compensate those who were affected by the drive.

The PTI leader blamed the MQM-P and provincial government for the losses of the poor in the anti-encroachment drive. He also claimed that his party would win the next local bodies elections from Karachi. The next mayor of the city will be from the PTI, Zaman said.