Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday directed authorities concerned to finalize ‘Karachi Transformation Plan’ during the current week in consultation with all stakeholders for its in-principle approval and implementation.
Chairing a high-level meeting to address civic problems of Karachi, the prime minister said the federal government is cognizant of sufferings of people, and vowed to play its role in mitigating them.
Governor Sindh Imran Ismail, Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar, Maritime Minister Syed Ali Zaidi, National Disaster Management Authority Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal and secretaries of relevant ministries participated in the meeting.
Imran Khan said the country’s progress and development is linked with the prosperity of its economic hub Karachi. He was updated about Karachi’s problems relating to clean drinking water, sewerage, solid waste management and transport and apprised of the proposals for their permanent solution. A presentation on Karachi Transformation Plan prepared by the planning ministry was also shown at the meeting.
Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said on Monday that all resources were being utilized to deal with the emergency situation in Karachi without any political discrimination. The federal government and its affiliated agencies were providing all possible assistance to the provincial government, he said in a tweet. Due to the rains, the people of the City of the Quaid were going through testing times, he said, adding that the sympathies of the whole nation were with them.
Due to torrential rains that wreaked havoc in Karachi last week, its residents took to streets to protest against authorities for failing to fix their power woes and other issues. The protesters lamented how Karachi’s sole power supplier, the K-Electric, neither had answers nor faced accountability for cutting off electricity for four days straight.
On Saturday, the prime minister had said that the federal government along with Sindh government was working to resolve three major problems of Karachi. “The whole nation feels the pain our people in Karachi are going through. However, out of this devastation and suffering there is now a positive development as my government, along with the Sindh government, is moving to immediately act and resolve three major problems of Karachi,” the prime minister had said on Twitter. He had further stated that the two will be working on cleaning the nullahs, finding a solution to the garbage issue in the city and resolving the water problems in the metropolis. “Cleaning the nullahs once and for all and dealing with encroachments impeding water channels; devising a permanent solution to the solid waste disposal and sewerage problems, and resolving the critical issue of water supply to the citizens of Karachi,” he had added.
Separately on Monday, a delegation of American Business Council called on Prime Minister Imran Khan and presented an additional cheque worth Rs 17 million for PM’s Corona Relief Fund on behalf of the Council. The prime minister, on the occasion, said that provision of conducive environment for profitable businesses and removal of all problems faced by the business community were the foremost priority of the government. The government on priority basis had announced incentives for the construction sector so that not only this sector could thrive, but also its allied industries could also progress, he added.
The prime minister further said that a high-level committee had been constituted for the promotion of small and medium levels businesses and removal of all the hurdles in that regard. He also directed his advisors on commerce and finance to consider the proposals presented by the delegation so that implementation of feasible suggestions could be ensured.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan thanked the nation for peacefully observing Ashura, but regretted that some elements had tried to ignite sectarian strife on the occasion. The premier said he had been informed of “elements who tried to ignite [the] flames of sectarianism” on the sombre occasion. “I will be taking very tough action against them,” he said.
On the issue of Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the brave Kashmiris who are fighting against the worst form of military oppression and tyranny should be inspired by Karbala to stay steadfast in their courage. “The brave Kashmiris who are fighting against the worst form of military oppression & tyranny should be inspired by Karbala to stay steadfast in their courage because their struggle against tyranny & injustice will succeed as the martyrs of Karbala showed us,” the prime minister said on Twitter. He said the sacrifice of Imam Hussain (AS), his family and followers is a huge message for the Muslims.
