Chaudhry Shujaat urges PM Imran Khan to stay in Karachi for a week

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) president and former prime minister Ch Shujaat Hussain has urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to stay in Karachi for a week and monitor the situation himself.

Commenting on the prevailing situation of Karachi in the aftermath of rains, Shujaat said, “many governments have come and gone but Karachi remains a victim of political statements. All major political parties have been in power in Karachi, there was governor’s rule, mayors and administrators too who regretfully did nothing except to hurl accusations against each other. Most of them thought that by levelling accusations they have discharged their responsibility. The shortage of clean water problem is most significant among other important problems of Karachi. On the issue of sanitation, he said most people performed “haath ki safai” rather than doing any practical work.”

“Till today only problems are identified but no groundwork is ever done to address them. Passing the buck is the common refrain here. Whenever a calamity strikes the city, the government says it the mayor's job, who in turn complains of lack of powers. No one actually does any work except to offer explanations (sifai). When the situation slips out of hands, then the army is requested to take over the sanitation work,” Ch Shujaat Hussain deplored.

He asked the prime minister to stay in Karachi for one week and monitor every problem of the city himself and issue directions, give timelines for addressing them, review them accordingly to see if his directions have been implemented or not.”