CM Punjab vows to turn Karachi into New York, if given chance

KARACHI: Punjab Chief Minister and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said he would turn Karachi into New York, if Allah (SWT) gave him an opportunity, for he wanted to make the city of Quaid great.

“Within two years, I will ensure water is supplied to every house in the city,” he said while addressing his party workers in Lyari on his two-day visit as part of the party’s mass-contact campaign ahead of the upcoming general elections. He said his trip was not for point-scoring.

He said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif provided 50 percent funds for the bulk water project of K-4. He said Nawaz also gave funds for Green Line Bus Rapid Transit project to the megalopolis, which could still not be completed.

Shehbaz Sharif expressed remorse over dismal situation of cleanliness and road infrastructure in Karachi.

He said Pakistan belonged to all and not just the elites. Everyone from Karachi to Khyber Pass was a Pakistani, he added.

The Punjab CM regretted that kickback was demanded from the contractor who was given contract for buses in Karachi and on denial from him the contract was annulled.

He said if Karachi’s situation was not changed, country’s situation would also remain so. He said the ex-premier had promised to bring peace back in Karachi and he did it.

“Rangers were given the task for reestablishing law and order situation in the city which they achieved working diligently,” he said.

Earlier, while talking to media along with Awami National Party (ANP) leaders in Karachi the PML-N president said his party was working for the development and prosperity of the country and the journey of development would continue.

He said the federal government restored peace in Karachi and now the city was ready to enter a whole new era of development and prosperity.

Responding to a question about electricity, Shahbaz Sharif said K-Electric was responsible for the crisis.

 

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This is Shehbaz Sharif’s second visit to Karachi in less than 15 days after assuming charge as president of the party. He is visiting the city at a time when his party’s government at the centre and PPP-led provincial government are engaged in political sparring over the power crisis in the metropolis.

During his stay in the city,  the PML-N chief also visit the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) temporary headquarters in Bahadurabad and held a meeting with the party leaders.

Speaking on the occasion, MQM leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that they were being ruled by a party that had a fake majority in the province.

He said they had conveyed their concerns to Shehbaz Sharif especially regarding the census in which Karachi’s population was shown far less than its real numbers.

The PML-N chief will travel to Hyderabad tomorrow to address political gatherings there.

Earlier on April 14, the chief minister embarked on the first visit to the city after his election as party president.

On March 13, Shehbaz was elected unopposed as PML-N chief as no other party leader filed nomination papers to contest the intra-party election for the party presidency.