Fed up with traditional politics, Karachiites will vote for JI: Siraj

KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami central chief Sirajul Haq has said that the country’s development and progress is linked to the development of Karachi, while the development of the megalopolis linked to his party’s victory in the upcoming local bodies polls.

“Karachi’s residents are fed up with the traditional politics and they want peace, progress and development. The JI is the only time-tested option for the city,” he said while addressing a public rally in Banaras on Sunday night.

Haq said Karachi had been on a downward spiral for the past several years. “The JI has the ability and potential to reverse the process, solve problems and place the city back onto the journey of peace and prosperity.”

The JI leader said Karachi experienced record development during the tenures of Abdul Sattar Afghani and Naimatullah Khan. He said the PPP and the MQM did nothing for the betterment of the city and instead pushed back the journey of development. “The people were hopeful of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf bringing about some genuine change, but the PTI failed the nation very badly.”

Haq claimed that the JI had become the only hope for the people in Karachi. Following the culmination of Naimatullah Khan’s tenure, regimes in Karachi discontinued the saga of progress, and as a result, the city had become a hub of problems once again.

He said both the federal and provincial governments had failed Karachi and Karachiites. The time had come for Karachi to continue the legacy of Naimatullah Khan, he said, adding that the Karachiites would have to come forward and support the weighing scales — the electoral symbol of the JI —- in the July 24 local government polls.

JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman also addressed the meeting. He hailed the participants for their overwhelming response to the call of the JI despite heavy rain. He added that the outstanding response converted the corner meeting into a convention. He expressed his hope that the city would turn a leaf in the book of history on July 24.