Maiden session of Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation held

Islamabad

It was an historic day when the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) held its maiden session at Pak-China Friendship Centre on Monday with both the sitting Mayor Shaikh Ansar Aziz and the opposition leader Malik Ali Nawaz Awan announced to run the house amicably.

Shaikh Ansar Aziz who chaired the first session maintained that meeting water shortage and resolution of other problems of the metropolitan relating to municipal services would be his top priorities.

Chief Metropolitan Officer Asad Durrani who acted stage secretary, presented Rs10 billion non development budget proposals of the IMC.

The first session of IMC lasted little over an hour. Before and after the session, the members of the house mixed up and greeted each other.

The house also constituted a committee for formulating bye laws of the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation.

The session was attended by chairmen, vice chairmen, councillors from 50 Union Councils and 27 members who were elected on reserved. The hall of the Pak China Friendship Centre, however, fell short for the participants as three deputy mayors could not get space with the Mayor on the dice.

“First of all I thank to Almighty Allah and then I am grateful to the Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif for choosing me for the task,” he said. He said the Mayor office was a public office and he would serve residents of all the union councils without any discrimination.

He said according to vision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the capital of Pakistan would be made more beautiful.

He also expressed his commitment to give better transport system to Islamabad along with maintenance of roads, parks, footpaths and removal of encroachments.

Shaikh Ansar Aziz, however, pointed out that shortage of water was the top most problem of Islamabad saying that he would also expedite water supply project from Ghazi Brotha along with installation of new tube-wells and maintenance of existing ones.

The opposition leader Ali Nawaz Awan assured the Mayor that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) would always extend support to him for resolution of problems of the federal capital.

He was of the view that the bureaucracy was main hurdle in addressing these issues due to which the residents of Islamabad have been suffering for years. He pointed out that presently there are only two hospitals for over two million residents of Islamabad.