KARACHI: Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday pledged to ‘heal the wounds of Karachi’, saying that the city’s lost glory would be restored with the support of the citizens of the sprawling metropolis.

“We are making our all-out efforts to make Karachi the city of lights and bastion of peace, again,” said Mr Bhutto-Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), while presiding over a meeting of the party’s Karachi executive at the Bilawal House.

Those who attended the meeting included PPP Karachi division president Saeed Ghani, general secretary Javed Nagori, deputy speaker in the Sindh Assembly Syeda Shehla Raza, Raja Abdul Razzaq, Salman Abdullah Murad, district presidents and chairmen of the DMCs.

Bilawal said the general election scheduled for this year would be the last for those who ‘dragged Karachi into darkness and lawlessness’.

He said ethnic hatred and the scourge of sectarianism were deliberately fanned in the provincial capital to serve ‘petty personal interests’ of those who designed the vicious scheme.

“This beautiful city’s economy was destroyed through the strikes imposed upon Karachi by force,” he added.

The PPP chief said Karachi was a poor-friendly city and the PPP was the party of the poor and the downtrodden.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari said the politics of guns, threats and rigging had been buried once and for all, and the city was breathing in a new era transcending the culture of violence and fear.

“The PPP will bring about a phenomenal industrial revolution in Karachi after being elected [in the coming election] by majority in the Sindh capital,” said the PPP leader.

He stressed the youth of Karachi to get ready to lead the nation, which was calling them to turn the country into a paradise on earth with the culture of togetherness and innovation.

Girl’s killing condemned

The PPP leader said the death of a minor girl in condemnable violent circumstances in Kasur was ‘a slap on the face of the ruling Sharifs’.

“The government of the Sharifs has been avoiding such savage attacks on children in the past as 10 similar cases were reported from the same district and 11 in Sheikhupura last year and the Punjab government remained criminally idle,” said Mr Bhutto-Zardari.

“It seems some regions in Punjab have been made a hell for children, girls in particular. But the Sharifs have never attended to such incidents, which should have ashamed them.”

He said the tragic incident had shaken the entire Pakistani society.

“We’ll raise the issue of violence against children, this case in particular, at all forums,” said the PPP chief.

He also expressed his concern over the ‘attempted kidnapping’ of journalist Taha Siddiqui in Islamabad and asked the ministry of interior to ensure safety of newsmen and arrest those involved in the incident.

Meetings

PPP leader from Tharparker Arbab Lutfullah called on the party chairman at Bilawal House on Wednesday and discussed ‘political situation and development profile of Thar’.

Mr Lutfullah also briefed him about situation in Mithi following the murder of two Hindu businessmen.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari said the PPP would not tolerate such violent acts and the Sindh government had already been asked to arrest and punish the killers.

The party leader from Mirpurkhas Syed Zulfikar, Ali Shah, also called on him.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2018