Corruption at the core of Karachi's ailments, says Mustafa Kamal in reaction to dismissal

KARACHI: Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) Chairman Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday hit back at Mayor Waseem Akhtar’s decision to de-notify him as the city’s ‘Project Director Garbage’ and said the reason why the metropolis continues to remain dirty was corruption.

Fulfilling Mustafa Kamal’s demand, Karachi Mayor, Waseem Akhtar had appointed the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) chairman as project director for 90 days for the proper disposal of garbage from the metropolis, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

After days of a war of words between the present and former mayors of Karachi, Waseem Akhtar threw the ball in Mustafa Kamal’s court given the fact of the mounting pressure of the PSP chairman’s claims for cleaning the metropolis within 90 days.

An official notification had also been released from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) yesterday which stated the appointment of Syed Mustafa Kamal as ‘Project Director of Garbage on voluntary basis’ with immediate effect.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, former city mayor Kamal, who was removed from his post as ‘Project Director Garbage’ earlier today.

Kamal confessed that the announcement came as a shock to him and was unexpected.

Read More: Garbage disposal: Mustafa Kamal accepts challenge of Karachi Mayor

“I started receiving phone calls as soon as it was announced that I had been given the charge of removing garbage from the city. I received calls from NGOs and MQM workers and leaders who assured me of their support to remove the garbage from the city.”

He added, “I said I will work nights and days and not sleep till the garbage was removed from the city. Everyone told me they were with me.”

Kamal further said that he told the NGOs to wait and not start using their machinery at their disposal to clean up the city. “I called municipal commissioner and financial adviser, I called them and said at 2 am that I will be outside the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium and I want to know about the sweepers who get paid and how much to clean up the city,” he added.

“But, a few hours later, the mayor who assigned me the post to help clean up the city removed me from my post. I knew this was about to happen because this was not about cleaning up the city, it was about corruption.”

Read More: Karachi Mayor throws the ball in Mustafa Kamal’s court for garbage disposal

“I accepted the mayor as my boss and was ready to work under him,” he said.

“I canceled my plan to visit Kashmir and I just found out two hours ago I was removed from my post. I am not blaming anyone,” he lamented.

He added that he was abused and ridiculed for his initiative. “I am not doing politics. I just wanted to clean up the city.”