JI leader condemns PPP government over 68 deathsdue to open gutters

Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, Ameer of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi, on Sastrongly criticised the former Pakistan People Party (PPP) government in Sindh for the deaths of 68 innocent individuals, including women and children, due to open gutters in Karachi this year.

Speaking at the JI Karachi headquarters, Idara Noor-e-Haq, Rehman expressed his views in response to media reports revealing the loss of lives in the ongoing year.

Rehman pointed out that the mayor, who also held positions as the administrator of Karachi and the special assistant to the chief minister, could not evade responsibility for the dire situation. The JI leader emphasised that the mayor needed to address questions of accountability given the PPP's 15-year rule over the province.

Referring to the mayor's attempt to gain media attention by organising an event for distributing gutter caps, Rehman criticised such actions as mere publicity stunts that didn’t address the genuine concerns of Karachi's residents.

Rehman further questioned the allocation of billions of rupees in previous years' budgets for addressing similar issues, highlighting the lack of substantial improvement. He also criticised the PPP for failing to devolve powers to elected representatives despite the existence of a local government system. As a result, Karachi had been grappling with numerous problems.

Rehman shed light on the water board's problems, highlighting that the mayor appears averse to addressing protests or concerns. He criticised the PPP for targeting entire neighborhoods by disconnecting water supplies while still supporting the water tanker mafia.

A few days ago, the Karachi JI emir urged the people of Karachi to carry out peaceful resistance against the rise in petrol prices, inflation and crime.

Addressing a press conference, he said there was no escape route for the nation and instead of going under depression, people would have to resort to peaceful resistance. Demanding the Kakar-led regime to immediately withdraw the recent and previous hike in petroleum products prices, he reminded the caretaker government that the ad hoc regime was supposed to hold the general elections and mitigate problems, instead of creating new ones.

The caretaker government had pounded the already marooned masses with a whopping increase of almost Rs20 in the petroleum prices, he said, adding that the electricity tariff had been increased by Rs9 in addition to fuel adjustments and other charges.

He said that consecutive regimes had used the International Monetary Fund's conditions as a pretext to further propel the inflation.