Farogh Naseem hints at imposing Article 149 in Karachi

KARACHI: In order to address issues of Karachi on an immediate basis, the Federal Law Minister Farogh Naseem on Wednesday hinted at imposing Article 149 in Karachi, ARY News reported.

“Finally the time has come to impose Article 149 (4) and 140 of the constitution in the Karachi for the immediate resolution of its issues, said law minister while talking to ARY News exclusively.

“Article 149 (4) neither speaks for governor rule nor about any emergency. It is an independent article which tells that the federal government has executive authority and according to which it can give directives to any provincial government,” he added.

He said that from the past 11 years the provincial government has ruined Karachi and did nothing except creating water woes, garbage issues for the masses of the megacity.

When asked about who will rule the metropolis after passing of the article, the federal law minister refused to give any details on the matter.

Earlier in the day, the Karachi Strategic Committee led by Law Minister Farogh Naseem gave the governor a briefing on suggestions thus far it has discussed to solve Karachi’s issues, particularly garbage and shortage of water problems.

Mr Ismail also put forward some key suggestions with regard to the issues, sources privy to the meeting said.

It must be noted that PM Khan had constituted a high-powered committee for Karachi issues under the supervision of the Federal Minister for Law, Farogh Naseem, including Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Khusro Bakhtiar, Director General Frontier Works Organization (FWO) and other members.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will also arrive in Karachi on Sept 14 on a daylong visit.