JI city chief derides newly inaugurated train service

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has rejected the plan of running a local train service in Karachi in the name of the Karachi Circular Railway, saying that nothing had been done to revive the circular railway and its original route connecting Drigh Road with Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Liaquatabad and Nazimabad had been changed.

He demanded that all the stations of the circular railway be repaired and their ticket houses be restored. He said the schedule of trains should be made such that it provided convenience to the passengers.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, he demanded that encroachments on the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) track be removed and flyovers be constructed over the railway gates.

He also announced that the next phase of the JI’s ‘Haq Do Karachi’ campaign would be announced soon. He claimed that the people had supported the stance of the JI in its Karachi referendum, which proved that only the JI was capable of resolving their issues.

The federal government should stop cracking jokes with the citizens of Karachi in the name of the circular railway, Rehman said, adding that Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid did not run a circular train but a local train.

Rehman claimed that the circular railway train was not being run on the existing track in the city and the project has been revived only to tell the Supreme Court that its directives had been obeyed. He said the KCR was making high profits in 1990s but during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz regime, the number of trains was reduced under a conspiracy and their timings changed arbitrarily, after which the railways had to bear losses and the service had to be closed.

Former deputy nazim of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town Engineer Saleem Azhar and JI Karachi Information Secretary Zahid Askari were also present on the occasion.