Ghani acknowledges journalists’ role in delivering truth to public

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has a history of supporting media freedom and journalists’ rights, said Saeed Ghani during a meeting with the Karachi Press Club’s (KPC) governing body and the subsequent press conference on Wednesday. The meeting involved discussing Karachi’s development and local governance issues.

Ghani, Sindh’s local government, housing, town planning and public health engineering minister, emphasised the importance of provincial efforts to maintain peace and order across Sindh, including Karachi.

He acknowledged the significance of the prime minister’s visit to the city, saying that PM Shehbaz Sharif is the premier of Pakistan, and Sindh is also in the country, so if he is visiting Karachi, he is visiting his province.

The provincial minister also said on the occasion that the PPP and their Sindh government would not support any party member who is involved in criminal activities.

Journalists’ issues

Ghani noted that the PPP has always prioritised addressing journalists’ issues, and providing them with facilities such as grants and residential plots. He made the assurance that the provincial government’s grant to the KPC would be increased, and the issue of Journalist Colony would also be resolved.

He recognised journalists’ role in delivering truth to the public, and acknowledged the risks they face in their work. He mentioned that journalists received plots from the Lyari Development Authority (LDA), and that the provincial government is working on their development.

However, KPC President Saeed Sarbazi noted that Malir Development Authority (MDA) officials are transferred and posted frequently, which has resulted in a lack of progress in the development of the plots allocated to the club members by the MDA.

Sarbazi pointed out that the formula of 20 per cent ownership by the members and 80 per cent by the government in the LDA is missing in the MDA. He requested that the issue be resolved at the earliest.

He also requested that addressing journalists’ concerns, and the issues of the 700 new members requiring plots be prioritised. Ghani assured him that he would address the issue soon.

Shehbaz’s visit

The LG minister also discussed the PM’s visit to the city, highlighting the cooperation between the federal and provincial authorities to address the local challenges.

Ghani said the PM met the Sindh chief minister and his cabinet to discuss the province’s issues at length. He said the city’s traders also called on the PM, in which meeting the cabinet was also present.

The LG minister said that on the request of the provincial transport minister, the PM committed to providing 150 new public buses for the city, and initiatives to address the issues of gas, electricity and other services.

Regarding K-Electric, he said that the real issue is not power theft but over-billing, which was also discussed with the PM. The federal and provincial energy ministers will hold a meeting in this regard in Islamabad, he added.

Ghani expressed the desire for better relations between the federal and provincial governments, and emphasised the need for a united approach to tackle the city’s challenges.

He said that during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s government, the party did not develop any sort of relationship with the provinces ruled by their rival political parties.

In response to some questions, he reiterated that maintaining law and order is the provincial government’s responsibility. He highlighted the PPP’s role in controlling crime during challenging times, and reaffirmed the party’s zero-tolerance stance on illegal constructions in the city.