KARACHI: Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday pledged to clean the metropolis within the next two months in a meeting with pop-star turned preacher Junaid Jamshed.

Junaid Jamshed was stopped by police officials at Jamshed Road when he was moving towards CM House with 15 truckloads of garbage as a sign of protest against the growing filth in the city, said officials.

“The police seized around 15 dumper trucks, some carrying garbage while others were empty and also detained a few persons who were later released,” said Jamshed Quarters SP Tahir Noorani.

Noorani added that no case was registered against Jamshed.

The police official added that commissioner Karachi also held talks with the pop-star turned preacher.

Shah, on his return to Karachi after a meeting with the premier, expressed his displeasure regarding the closure of road in front of chief minister house. The road had been closed by placing containers across it, in an attempt to stop Jamshed’s protest.

Shah had the road opened by having the containers removed.

“Junaid Jamshed, who was accompanied with two other members of the civil society, told the chief minister they did not have any political ambitions and they wanted to seek attention of the authorities towards unbearable filthy conditions in the city,” said a spokesman from the chief minister’s house.

In a discussion with Jamshed, the province’s chief executive informed him about his plan for cleaning the city.

Shah informed the civil society members that the provincial government planned to construct total 1000 dustbins in the city, with each dustbin having a capacity of 10 tonnes.

He added the provincial government also planned to ban throwing of garbage outside residences.

Earlier in February, campaigner Alamgir Khan, whose ‘Fix it’ campaign to cover unsealed manholes in the metropolis gained media attention, was arrested by police as he attempted to create a “symbolic garbage dump” outside the Sindh Chief Minister House.

Khan was on board a tractor and moving along the PIDC traffic intersection towards the Red Zone, where several state building including Chief Minister House are located, when police personnel took him and his driver, Saifullah into custody.

As part of the Fix it campaign, a group of Karachiites led by Khan had been spray-painting the portrait of then Sindh CM Qaim Ali Shah on major roads of the metropolis, which invokes the ire of thousands everyday due to their derelict condition.

The group later purchased covers and sealed manholes in several areas of the city, later arranging for a tractor to pick up garbage from piles of heap on the roadsides.