Centre, Sindh join hands to ease Karachi’s woes

KARACHI: The Centre and the Sindh government have formed a consultative committee to resolve the problems of Karachi city, which has been in the spotlight lately over poor drainage system following monsoon rains.

The committee, to be headed by Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah, was formed at a meeting between the leaders of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on the weekend here, confirmed Sindh government spokesperson Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Sunday.

Barrister Wahab said in a statement that two rounds of talks between the Centre and the Sindh government had taken place. The committee comprised three representatives each from the federal and provincial governments, he added.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi and Minister for Information Technology Syed Ameenul Haq will represent the Centre, while Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Education Minister Saeed Ghani will represent the provincial government with Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah heading the committee.

Barrister Wahab said issues facing the metropolis would be resolved if all parties worked together, adding the Sindh government had always been ready to cooperate with other parties for the development of the province.

He said the consultative committee would help accelerate construction work on uplift schemes and ensure their timely completion, besides removing hurdles in the execution of development schemes in the province.

The three major political parties of the metropolis – PPP, PTI and MQM-P—met on Saturday to discuss the city’s issues in two separate meetings that were held in Islamabad and Karachi. According to a private news channel it was decided in the meetings to form an advisory committee and a liaison committee to solve the metropolis’ problems.

Chief Minister Shah, Saeed Ghani and Nasir Shah represented the provincial government in the meeting. Governor Sindh Imran Ismail, federal ministers Asad Umar and Ali Zaidi as well as Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar were also in attendance.

Sources said National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lt-Gen Muhammad Afzal also attended the meeting.

Discussions revolved around the role of the NDMA in the development of Karachi. It was decided that members of the Centre and the Sindh government would form an advisory committee to resolve the city’s issues.

MQM-P leader Muhammad Amir Khan, in a tweet on Sunday, said Karachi’s problems could not be solved without giving full authority to its locals. “This will only be possible when new provinces are established across the country, including Karachi,” he said. Separately, Sindh Information Minister Nasir Hussain Shah welcomed the meetings as a step in the right direction for the betterment of Karachiites. The collaboration between PPP, PTI and MQM-P to work for the betterment of the city would prove to be an important milestone, he said.

Referring to the recent monsoon rains which wreaked havoc in the metropolis, the provincial minister said the Sindh government had welcomed the Centre and the NDMA in its efforts to clean Karachi’s stormwater drains, adding steps taken by the chief minister Sindh could not be forgotten.

He expressed optimism that the parties’ cooperation would prove to be an important milestone for Karachi’s development, adding some people harbouring enmity towards the megacity might not like such union.