Karachi’s rulers are not based in the city: Imran

F.P. Report

KARACHI: Karachi suffers because the party elected to the assemblies to represent the city is not based here and just uses the city to mint money, said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan.

The PTI chief was speaking to the media at Karachi Press Club on Sunday. He arrived today on a two-day visit to oversee PTI’s membership campaign in the city. Imran plans to contest the upcoming general elections from Karachi. Imran said Karachi’s biggest problem is that its local government system is powerless. “The second problem is that money that should be spent on Karachities is being sent to Dubai,” he said. The party that comes into power in Karachi does not have its base in the city. “First, their base is not Karachi and then their interest is also not in Karachi,” he said. “They just use Karachi to mint money. As for the party that Karachi’s, its leader ran the affairs from London for a long time and the result is before you.”

He said that a directly elected mayor like the ones installed in London or New York is the need of the hour to address Karachi’s issues. The mayor should have his team of experts to address civic issues such as water and sewerage.

The PTI chief said the police system of Karachi needs to be fixed. “Karachi’s police system doesn’t deliver, which is why Rangers are here,” he said, adding that all the provinces should emulate the model of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s police. According to Imran, K-P’s police are depoliticised, which is why Nawaz Sharif and Asfandyar Wali Khan can now deliver speeches without any threat in the province. “I want to provide an alternative plan to Karachi and Sindh for change,” he said. “The problem here is that those who win from Sindh do not have an interest in Karachi.”

He said that Karachiites should vote his party into power. A journalist said that Karachi would be “orphaned” if Imran is elected from the city and decides to boycott the assembly like he has mostly done.

“The assembly will be formed after PTI will be in power,” said Imran. “The PM will be held for questioning like they do in Britain.”

How can PTI bring about a revolution in Sindh when it has the same feudal lords by its side who have supported military dictators Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf? “Anyone can join us,” said Imran. “Once they join the party, they are bound to follow the leadership’s manifesto and abide by the party discipline. The problem arises when you have to form alliance. We can’t stop them from corruption if they are not following our party discipline.”