The Karachi chapter of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) staged a protest demonstration outside the Sindh Assembly on Saturday against lack of due share of Karachi in the provincial and federal budgets.
A large number of people, belonging to all different walks of life, participated in the demonstration. The protesters, carrying placards and banners, chanted slogans against the ruling parties for “depriving Karachi and Karachiites of their due rights”.
Addressing the participants, Karachi JI emir Munem Zafar Khan said the ruling partners both in the center and the province once again presented an anti-people, anti-Karachi budget. He said the megacity had been surrounded by never-ending crises, including an acute water shortage, devastated infrastructure, a lack of a mass transit system and a power crisis.
He demanded of the government to earmark Rs500 billion to initially address the burning issues of Karachi. The city needs 10,000 busses under the mass transit system as mere 300 busses are unable to cater to a city that is home to more than 30 million individuals, he said. He also demanded restoring the Karachi Circular Railway Project.
He demanded monetary and administrative powers for the local government setup as per the Constitution of Pakistan. He elaborated his viewpoint that the city generates 54 percent export of the country, 67 percent revenue for the national exchequer, and 95 percent budget
for the province, but it was kept deprived of its own rights.
Not only that the tanker mafia practically rules over the city, and a large number of Karachiites are deprived of basic facilities, including health, education, and transport, he said. Talking about the much-needed K-4 water supply project, he said Wapda submitted a requisite of Rs40 billion to complete the project, but the government earmarked just Rs3.2 billion, practically shelving the project. Karachi paid Rs3,000 billion in tax, but the government couldn’t allocate just Rs40 billion for the K4 project, he highlighted.
The JI leader strongly criticized the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement dubbing the two parties as a product of Form 47. Talking about the infrastructure, he highlighted the Red Line project that was underway, saying it was supposed to be completed in June 2024 with an estimated cost of $504 million. The project was yet in limbo, whereas the estimated cost had increased to $700 million, he said, adding that Karachiites would have to repay this amount with interest in the years to come.
Zafar also highlighted the Karimabad underpass and said it was constructed to facilitate the PPP’s Dr Asim Hussain. The Rs1.3 billion project after ruining hundreds of businesses now stood at an estimated cost of over Rs3 billion.
Talking about the transport sector, he quoted a five-year-old report that one seat was available against 44 commuters in Karachi. He added that the situation had been worsened during the past five years.
He added that the Sindh government illogically banned four-seat rickshaws without providing any alternatives, just to add insult to the injury. He said 58 percent Karachiites use motorbikes to commute and instead of facilitating them, the government just increases penalties and traffic challans. He said Karachiites would not accept this injustice.
