Jogging, walking, cycling track opened at Bagh Ibne Qasim

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has constructed a jogging, walking and cycling track at the 130-acre Bagh Ibne Qasim. Two days in a week have been designated for only women.

Talking to the media at the park in Clifton on Tuesday, Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that the track has been constructed to restore the splendour of the city. Flanked by Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad, Wahab said the people of the city can participate in healthy activities.

Earlier, female members of the KMC City Council and the women leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had inaugurated the jogging and cycling track in the presence of the mayor.

Wahab’s political affairs spokesman Karamullah Waqasi, the PPP’s parliamentary party leader in the city council Najmi Alam, PPP District Central General Secretary Dil Muhammad, KMC Parks Director General Junaidullah Khan, and other relevant officers and PPP leaders were also present on the occasion.

The mayor said that many people take credit for constructing Bagh Ibne Qasim, but the park had been built for the first time in 1920.

“It’s a historical place and has the status of a landmark of Karachi,” he said, adding that jogging and cycling tracks would be reserved for women for two days a week so that they can engage in these activities with freedom.

Wahab said that a Pakistan Pavilion would also be set up at Bagh Ibne Qasim to promote cultural and economic activities, while arrangements would also be made at the park for hockey and cricket facilities for the youth. He said Karachi’s future would be better. He pointed out that they are introducing projects under public-private partnership that would be very beneficial for the city.

He also said the PPP has seen very tough times, but they are ready for it, as “good and bad times keep coming and passing on, so we know how to deal with the bad times”. He also invited Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman to serve the city together with them. “Our doors are open for all parties. Anyone who wants the improvement and development of this city can join us in this journey.”

Mayor Wahab, Deputy Mayor Murad and other guests cycled on the occasion, and invited people to join them. The mayor pointed out that all the parks, playgrounds and open spaces of Karachi are made for the people, as “they are the real heirs; our job is to serve this city and its residents”.