Mixed reactions pour in as some hail PM’s Karachi package as historic, others remain sceptic

Reacting to the Rs1,100 billion package for Karachi announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday, stakeholders of the city, including political leaders, civil society activists and residents, gave varied responses with some taking it as a sign of hope for the city while others expressed their disbelief in the promised development.

The package that was dubbed as the Karachi Transformation Plan was announced in a bid to pacify the angry residents of the port city that have been facing severe hardships after the heavy monsoon rains a week ago that seemed to have destroyed the drainage and sewerage infrastructure in many areas of the city where roads and floods are still inundated.

Commenting on the promised multi-billion package, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq, who was also in Karachi on Saturday, said the prime minister should have come earlier when the city was heavily flooded after the recent torrential rains.

Meanwhile, JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman remarked that before announcing a new package for the city, Khan should have explained what happened to the Rs162 billion package for Karachi that he had announced after becoming the prime minister.

He added that before starting any development projects, the federal and provincial governments must compensate the losses incurred by poor people of the city who had lost their loved ones and belongings in the catastrophic rain.

National Trade Union Federation Deputy General Secretary Nasir Mansoor said that the solution to Karachi’s problems lied in the establishment of an empowered city government. He added that the issues of Karachi must not be seen under linguistic and ethnic prejudices.

Khalid Zardgan, leader of the Lyari Awami Mahaz, said that besides the development package, the government should take action against the industrial units that had been dumping hazardous chemical waste into natural waterways, spreading dangerous diseases throughout the city.

Sharfuddin Memon, the president of the Defence Society Residents Association, was, however, of the view that the solution to Karachi’s problems lied in having a one-window operation. He said that currently 40 per cent of the city was under different land owning agencies while the rest was directly under the government and it created mismanagement.

“We have all the expertise but only a sincere effort could bring improvement,” Memon remarked.

‘A historic package’

Khurrum Sher Zaman, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Karachi president, termed the multi-billion funds a historic package for the city. He thanked the prime minister for announcing the package.

“The steps taken for the development of Karachi are commendable. At present, there are many problems in Karachi due to which citizens have been severely affected,” said Zaman, who is also a member of the Sindh Assembly from Karachi.

In a statement issued by the party secretariat, Insaf House, he said that the Rs1,100 billion package included cleaning of drains, completion of pending projects, transport, roads, sewerage system, and solid waste and water supply projects.

“The federal government of the PTI will extend all possible cooperation to the Sindh government to solve the problems of the city. If the Sindh government also wants a permanent solution to Karachi's problems, it must continue its cooperation with the federation.”

Zaman maintained that Karachi was the economic hub of the country and its development guaranteed the country's development. “The city which gives 75 per cent revenue to the country has always been the focus of politics but the PTI government will not allow the citizens of Karachi to get into more trouble.”

The PTI leader stated that the day was not far away when Karachi would be counted among the developed cities of the world.

‘Package won’t help’

Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal, however, was not optimistic about the package as he remarked that unless reforms were not carried out to ensure financial and administrative autonomy of Karachi on a permanent basis, packages, and monetary aids would not prove to be worthwhile.

“Not to speak of the Rs1,100 billion package, even Rs11,000 billion spending would not help resolve the lingering socio-economic and administrative issues of Karachi as the Pakistan Peoples Party’s biased and corrupt Sindh government cannot be part of the solution,” he said.

He added that mere talks and forming committees would not change the ground reality. The PSP chief expressed these views while addressing a meeting of the office bearers of the Sindh division.

He said the army chief had spent two days in Karachi to resolve the issues of the metropolis and his visit was followed by the prime minister’s visit. Only the army chief could ensure the implementation of development projects in Karachi, for which he needed to play his role in the larger interest of the city, Kamal added.

He was of the view that if the issues of the metropolis were not resolved, the city could turn into a security risk at any time as the sense of deprivation was deepening among the citizens of the port city.

Criticising the Sindh government, Kamal said the people of Karachi still remembered the fate of 800 buses promised by the PPP-led Sindh government a few years ago.

The package announced for Karachi would not benefit its dwellers, the PSP chief said, adding that without an administrative autonomy, the city would not be able to play its role in Pakistan’s economic development to its full potential.

He said that the 18th amendment did not intend to let the chief ministers become dictators of their provinces. He lamented that instead of empowering the districts, cities, towns and union councils (UC) after the 18th constitutional amendment, the chief ministers had become more

powerful.

He demanded that the federal government immediately launch the Provincial Finance Commission award on the style and formula of the National Finance Commission award so that powers and resources would be transferred to the district, city, town and UC levels.

Kamal said Karachi’s issues were a matter of national security as the city was a goose that laid golden eggs. He alleged that earlier the master plan department had the status of a watchman that used to prevent illegal constructions but in 2013, the Sindh government brought the master plan department under the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), which destroyed the city.

He called for separating the master plan department from the SBCA so that the independent and autonomous nature of the body could be restored.

He also demanded that municipal services of 18 different stakeholders working in the city should be subordinated to an elected mayor.

Karachi is the heart of Sindh but it has been divided into seven parts on ethnic grounds, the PSP chief remarked. He demanded the restoration of Karachi to one district and its 18 towns to be subordinated to the mayor so that at least the drains of the entire city could be cleaned.

He also called for increasing the seats of the National Assembly and Sindh assembly from Karachi after conducting an accurate census.