Tuesday Jun 06, 2023
We want to solve the problem of the mayor in a political way, says Wahab.
The situation will improve if there is no interference, he says.
"Didn't the world see, JI was number one in the polls?" asks the head of JI.
A Pakistan People's Party (PPP)-backed mayor of Karachi would be able to run the city's affairs better than someone from another party, Murtaza Wahab - the PPP's candidate for the top job - said on Monday.
"Becoming mayor is not a matter of ego. If a person from a party other than PPP is elected as mayor, he will complain about administrative powers," Wahab Shahzeb Khanzada of Geo News said.
Wahab, who served as the administrator of Karachi from August 2021 to December 2022, said, "Since the PPP is in power in both the federal and provincial governments, it will be easy to manage the affairs of the mayor of Karachi belongs to the PPP."
Besides, he said only 8 or 9 representatives of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – which threw its weight behind Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman for the coveted post last month – attended the JI meeting. recently, stating that the latter is unlikely to have sufficient support for the post.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Karachi Mayor election is scheduled to be held on June 15 and before the appointment, PPP and JI are two of the biggest contenders for the post. The two parties are in a bitter battle for position, each claiming to have the most voters.
"We want to solve the mayor's problem in a political way," Wahab said.
Moreover, he admitted that the PPP had made mistakes in the past.
"It was criticized that we don't have buses and ambulances, but today you can see them," he said, referring to the recently launched People's Bus Service.
He added that there has been criticism about the city's infrastructure, but that too is improving.
"Karachi is a work in progress," Wahab said.
We are working to improve the city's sewage system, playgrounds and infrastructure, he said.
"Road construction is underway in the industrial area of the site. Korangi Causeway was sinking in the rain, we improved it. Work on Malir Expressway is progressing rapidly,” he added, confirming that the stretch from Qayyumabad to Shah Faisal would be completed by the end of the year.
Wahab further said that resources are very important to continue development work.
“If there is no interference in administrative and political matters, the situation will improve.
"Let the leadership do the work," he said, adding that if the PPP is allowed to work with any intervention, the party will deliver.
"JI is number one"
JI's mayoral candidate Naeem rejected PPP's demands for the top post in the same programme.
Rejecting PPP's claim that PTI will not support JI, party chief Karachi Naeem said, “Who told them that we have invited everyone? They don't have complete information but they are sure to appoint the mayor of Karachi."
"They have experience in breaking up other parties, but they are dealing with JI for the first time," he said.
However, he said there was no "enmity" between the two parties.
“They have to recognize that our numbers are greater. They will have to end the mentality they have had since the 1970s that they will not agree to a mandate even if the country cracks.
"We have no problems with negotiations," he said.
If their position was actually number one, that would be a different matter, but didn't the world see that JI ended up at the top?
He then added that the Electoral Commission and RO were used to change the election results.
“Even today we are present in the Islamabad High Court and now we will go to the Supreme Court in the matter of six Union Councils (UC)… then there were 5 to 6 of them which they did by recounting. Then they occupied 10-12 seats in PTI.
If they really did, we would accept. But they can't expect us to comply if they rip up the seats.
Naeem further said that both JI and PTI individually had more votes than PPP and said that both his party and PTI were working together.
"We are in touch with PTI members but we don't want to lay all our cards on the table yet so they don't start grabbing PTI members who support us."
He further said that he has spoken to the Supreme Court and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to normalize the matter and reiterated that JI is the "conservator" of PTI in Karachi.
"We are trying to give them relief and protection," he said.
