MQM’s Rule Is Over; Time for Excuses Is Gone, Now It’s Time to Work: Murtaza Wahab

KARACHI: Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab has said that the era of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in Korangi is over and that the time for making excuses is also finished, adding that the focus should now be on development and public service.

Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, along with Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, inaugurated the Korangi No. 5 Flyover. The ceremony was attended by Korangi Town Chairman Naeem Sheikh, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) district office-bearers and workers.

Addressing the ceremony, Murtaza Wahab said, “No one will be made a ‘murgha’ in the city anymore. The time for excuses is over; now is the time to work.”

He said the city’s leadership was working according to the vision of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and President Asif Ali Zardari.

Wahab said the party leadership had consistently asked what was being done for the people. He noted that Korangi was an area where MQM had previously held political dominance, but the PPP government had constructed thousands of roads in the district.

He listed several development projects, including the Korangi Causeway, Taj Haider Flyover, Korangi-Landhi Flyover, Korangi No. 2½ Bridge, Azim Purah Flyover and Shahrah-e-Bhutto.

The mayor said Rs2 billion was being spent on development in Korangi and another Rs2 billion in Landhi.

He said while other provinces were talking about working in the field of autism, the Sindh government had established an autism centre four years ago.

“The PPP’s message is simple: work, because the people are watching,” Wahab said, adding that roads were also necessary to connect communities and that development projects would continue under the party’s leadership.

Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said the vision of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari was to serve the people. He said Chief Minister Sindh and his entire team were working day and night to implement this vision.

Shah said the government was not doing the people a favour by undertaking major development schemes. He said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s commitment was to public service and the government was working with the same spirit.

He said the Sindh government was the largest donor to Indus Hospital for healthcare facilities. He added that the region’s largest autism centre was being constructed along Shahrah-e-Bhutto in Korangi, which would be named “Inclusive City.”

Regarding funding for industrial areas, Shah said industrialists were respected stakeholders. On the directives of the PPP chairman, the Sindh chief minister had allocated funds for industrial areas to improve infrastructure and create more employment opportunities.

He said a total of Rs4 billion had been allocated for the Korangi and Landhi industrial areas, with Rs2 billion allocated to each, aimed at improving infrastructure and increasing employment.

Nasir Hussain Shah said Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s slogan was “Roti, Kapra aur Makan” (bread, clothing and housing), and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was carrying the same message forward.

He said the PPP believed in taking everyone along and that this was part of the party’s manifesto.

The provincial minister added that both the Karachi mayor and Sindh chief minister visited different parts of Karachi late at night, sometimes without media coverage or official protocol, to monitor the city’s situation.