Murtaza Wahab, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) nominee for Karachi mayor, has said that a PPP-backed mayor will be able to manage the city’s matters better compared to someone from another party. Wahab who served as Karachi administrator from August 2021 to December 2022 said: “Since PPP is in power in both the federal and provincial governments, it will be easy to run the affairs of the Karachi mayor belongs to PPP.”
“Becoming the mayor isn’t a matter of ego. If a person belonging to any party other than the PPP gets elected as the mayor, then they’ll complain about administrative powers,” he added. Furthermore, he said expressed doubts that Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) would have the requisite strength to appoint the person for Karachi’s coveted post and that only 8 or 9 representatives of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — which threw its weight behind JI’s Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman last month — attended the recent JI meeting.
It is pertinent to mention here that elections for Karachi mayor are to be conducted on June 15, and ahead of the appointment, PPP and JI are two of the biggest contenders for the post. Both parties are engaged in a heated battle for the position, each claiming that it has the most voters. “We want to solve the mayor’s issue in a political way,” Wahab said.
Moreover, he conceded that PPP has made mistakes in the past. “There was criticism that we did not have buses and ambulances, but they can be seen today,” he said, referring to the recently launched People’s Bus Service. He added that there was criticism on the issue of infrastructure in the city, but that too is being improved.
“Work is being done in Karachi,” Wahab said. We are working to improve the sewage system, the playgrounds, and the infrastructure of the city, he said. “Road construction is going on in the site industrial area. Korangi Causeway used to sink in the rain, we have improved it.
Work on the Malir Expressway is progressing rapidly,” he added, confirming that the section from Qayyumabad to Shah Faisal would be completed by the end of the year. Wahab further said that resources are very important for developmental work to continue. “If there is no interference in administrative and political matters, the situation will improve.
“Let the management do the work,” he said, adding that if the PPP is allowed to work with any interference, the party will deliver.
