KARACHI, Dec 10: City Nazim Niamatullah Khan has said that influx of people into Karachi from other parts of the country cannot be stopped unless job opportunities were created and backward areas developed in the rest of Sindh , as well as other provinces.

Rejecting the western propaganda labelling Karachi 'a city of terrorism', he said the West and its media should differentiate between crime and terrorism. Had it really been a city of terrorism, it neither would have gained the growth rate of up to six per cent as against the three per cent achieved by other parts of the country, nor would it have contributed 70 per cent revenues to the national exchequer, he argued.

The nazim was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the four-day exhibition of building material, IAPEX-2004, which began on Friday at Expo Centre here under the aegis of the Institute of Architects Pakistan (IAP).

Comparing the city's crime rate with major cities of the world, he pointed out that about 150,000 vehicles were snatched annually in Washington whereas Karachi's average figure vis-à-vis vehicle snatching stood at around 5,000 per annum.

"No doubt, Karachi has in the past remained a victim of terrorism and sectarian violence. However, it has now become a peaceful city and it is evident from the fact that the six per cent growth in its population includes the three per cent influx from other parts of the country and this influx is caused by job and business opportunities,'' he said.

At the outset, the city nazim informed the gathering that the city was progressing rapidly as an unprecedented number of development projects had already been undertaken in a short span of time, i.e. just three years, whereas a large number of other major uplift plans are afoot and expected to be completed within the next six months.

The developments works which had already been completed included reconstruction of a number of major thoroughfares, re-modelling and improvement of many important intersections, introduction of jumbo-sized and environment- friendly buses under the Urban Transport Scheme, model parks, opening of new intermediate colleges, setting up of Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases, FTC and Sharea Faisal flyovers, etc., the nazim said.

Regarding the uplift projects in pipeline, the nazim said they included construction of four underpasses, 13 new pedestrian bridges, more than 400 bus stops, mini-model parks in all the 178 union councils, provision of an elevated steel flyover as an alternative route to Sharea Faisal, 30 other steel flyovers at busy intersections, shifting of inter-city bus termini to the RCD, National and Super highways, flyovers at Sohrab Goth, Hassan Square and Quaidabad and four major parks. IAP President Arshad Abdullah and Vice-President Aqeel Bilgrami also spoke.