Success in Cantt board polls in Karachi has boosted JI’s morale in entire country, says Haq

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq said on Wednesday the success in September’s cantonment board elections in Karachi had boosted the morale of the religious party and encouraged its workers across the country.

“The progress and success of the JI in the recently held cantonment board elections in various cities, including Karachi, Rawalpindi and Nowshera, has given encouragement and enthusiasm to the religious party in the entire country,” said Haq while addressing the newly elected councillors at the Idara Noor-e-Haq, the party’s city headquarters.

JI Sindh chief Muhammad Hussain Mehanti, Karachi emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, councillors Zikar Mehanti, Ahmed Yasir, Col (retd) Malik Muhammad Raza, Muhammad Iqbal Rehan Maggu and Syed Ibn-e-Hasan Hashmi, and other leaders attended the meeting.

The councillors informed the JI chief about the issues of their areas and said that the metropolis had been facing a shortage of water and heaps of garbage, and the corrupt mafia under the patronage of people belonging to government parties had been occupying all government institutions. They vowed to follow the JI’s legacy to serve the people.

Haq said the JI would not leave Karachi’s people alone and would struggle for resolving their civic issues. “In the current situation, the JI has become the only hope for the residents in the city because it has the capacity to resolve the problems.

Haq said the “sale and purchase” of votes was a common practice now in elections. “But the JI is the only party that is free from corruption. The day is not far when the JI will implement a corruption-free system in the country.”

He said the people were no longer ready to bear the corrupt elites that did nothing for the public welfare but looted the country’s resources during their turns in power.

Holding current and former federal, provincial and city governments responsible for the deteriorating condition of Karachi, Haq said the city’s current situation did not arise in a few days or months, but it was because of incompetent and corrupt rulers of every tier for the past several decades.

He said the residents of the metropolis had been facing numerous problems and difficulties.

“It is a great pity and shame for the rulers that the people of the country’s largest city do not have access to drinking water, and water has become the biggest problem of Karachi,” he said. “The city has been facing poor sanitation arrangements and broken and dilapidated roads, and there is virtually no effective transport system for more than 30 million people.”

The JI leader also said that Karachi was submerged in rainwater after even light showers mainly because of the absence of an effective and empowered local government system in the city. “Packages of billions of rupees are announced but no money is spent.”