Country has never seen poorer conditions before, says JI leader

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman on Tuesday strongly condemned Prime Minister Imran Khan’s comment that the current difficulties would lead to prosperity.

Talking to The News, he said poor people were already being crushed due to the increased prices of essential commodities, adding that they had never seen so poor conditions in the country before.

Nizam-e-Mustafa Party chief Haji Hanif Tayyab said that the government should think of the welfare of the country, instead of surrendering before the International Monetary Fund. He demanded withdrawal of the nine per cent increase in the water tariff, and said the city was facing an acute shortage of water.

On Monday, the JI and the Sunni Tehreek (ST) also demanded from the Sindh government to withdraw the increase in the water tariff as water taps were already dry in the majority of the houses.

Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, while talking to the media at an Iftar-e-Aaam, said 90 percent of the people used water pumps to help water reach different heights, which raised electricity bills. The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board continued to send bills without sending water, he added.

He said that this was injustice with the people of Karachi who were facing an acute shortage of water and electricity. Thousands of people in Ramazan stood in long lines with water bottles, he said.

The JI leader said that Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah was unaware of the problems faced by the people. ST chief Mohammed Sarwat Ejaz Qadri said the K-IV bulk water supply project had already been delayed and its first phase had been given to the National Engineering Services Pakistan and nobody was aware about the fate of the project.