He strongly criticizes the PPP government for killing people due to heavy traffic, street criminals and people falling into sewers.
JI organizes sit-ins at 13 different places in Karachi against growing anarchy. Photo: PPI
KARACHI:
The local chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami held sit-ins at 13 major points in Karachi against almost daily killings of citizens in accidents, street crimes and manholes turned into death traps.
The protesters, carrying placards and banners, chanted slogans against lawlessness further aggravated by corruption and mismanagement by the PPP government in Sindh.
Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Ameer Monem Zafar Khan held a press conference at Idara Noor-e-Haq, the headquarters of JI Karachi, to press the issues and then addressed the sit-in participants.
He mentioned that this year 254 people died and another 12,000 were injured due to heavy traffic.
Furthermore, 25 citizens were shot dead by robbers and 24 citizens, including children, lost their lives by falling into open sewers and manholes, he added.
“Despite all this, the only objective of the Sindh government seems to be the issuance of e-challans,” he said.
He said that the mentality of the Pakistan People’s Party is feudal and landlord, and that its 17-year rule represents the worst combination of incompetence, corruption and bad governance. He highlighted that the PPP-led Sindh government destroyed all institutions in Karachi and took control of its resources, leaving the city hostage to a corrupt system.
“Our demands are clear,” he said, adding: “protect citizens from heavy traffic and armed criminals, free the business community from extortion, restore Karachi’s infrastructure and regulate heavy traffic.”
“After suffering billions of rupees in losses during the rains, traders are now openly being asked to extort them – demands of up to Rs 50 million,” he alleged.
He also accused land grabbers of occupying plots, with false allotments, in areas like Baldia Town, Surjani Town, Punjab Colony, Delhi Colony, Hawkesbay, Taiser Town and Scheme 33, alleging that such activities could not continue without the patronage of the Sindh government.
Questioning the use of surveillance technology, he said drones and cameras do not detect street criminals but issue e-challans and deliver them to citizens’ homes. He noted that Karachi, the country’s largest city, needs 15,000 buses, but the Sindh government has provided only 400 in the last 17 years.
He also criticized delays in projects such as the Red Line BRT and the Karimabad underpass, saying no completion dates are announced.
Sit-in protests were held at Kala Board National Highway, Tibet Center (MA Jinnah Road), Dawood Chowrangi, Korangi Crossing, Power House Chowrangi (North Karachi), University Road (Met office), Dolmen Mall Hyderi (Sher Shah Suri Road), Liaquatabad No. 10, Orangi No. 5, Garden Office (Hub River Road), Pracha Chowk (Sher Shah) and Sohrab Goth Super Highway.
