JI to stage sit-in outside PA on June 21 for Karachi’s rights

Karachi Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) emir Munem Zafar Khan has announced a protest rally will be staged outside the Sindh Assembly on June 21 for the rights of Karachi and Karachiites.

Addressing a press conference at the JI Karachi headquarters, Idara Noor-e-Haq, he said even the Pakistan Peoples Party’s nominated mayor complained that Islamabad was neglecting Karachi.

He said the PPP was a coalition partner of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in the centre, yet Karachi was badly neglected in both the federal and provincial budgets, the budget allocated for the much needed K4 water supply project was quite inadequate and no new mega project was launched for the megalopolis.

Zafar also criticised the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) for its policy to seek votes in the name of Karachi, enjoy all perks and privileges available in any government and never deliver to Karachi and Karachiites.

He said both the PPP and the MQM were coalition partners with the PML-N in the center, but they never went beyond occasional statements for Karachi and Karachiites. The two parties show keen interest in ministries but not in any development project for Karachi, and, as a result, all such projects are found in limbo in the mega city, he said.

Zafar went on to say that all the ruling parties showed exemplary unity when it came to increase the pay for legislators by 180 percent and 600 percent for chairman and deputy chairman Senate and speaker of the National Assembly. He added that the same coalition partners don’t change the status quo as the city was facing power, water, health and educational crises.

He said the JI will continue its legal, constitutional and democratic struggle for the rights of Karachiites. He said a protest will be held outside the assembly building against neglecting the mega city in the federal and provincial budgets, inadequate budgets for K4 water supply and lack of new mega projects.

Further talking about the K4 project, he said that it had been in limbo for the past 22 years. In this budget, he said, Rs40 billion were asked for completion of the project but only Rs3.2bn were allocated. It was nothing less than an anti-Karachi policy of the coalition government in the centre.

Talking about Israeli cold blooded attacks on Iran and other Muslim countries, he stressed the need for the Muslim Ummah to get united. He strongly condemned the United States for using veto in favour of Israel.

He also highlighted that the United Nations had lost the very purpose of its inception as it couldn’t play any role in the recent developments despite the fact that Israeli aggression not only jeopardized the stability in the region but also attempted to open the hellfire gates towards the Third World War.

He also dubbed the OIC as a dead horse and asked the 57 Islamic countries to put their house in order as they themselves would have to safeguard themselves against rogue states like Israel.