KARACHI: It was an ostensibly odd day for the members belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, one of the coalition partners of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led federal government, in the City Council meeting of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation on Friday when the PTI municipal representatives did not vote for their nominee for presiding over the council session in the absence of Mayor Wasim Akhtar.

However, the PTI’s indifference in the process did not hinder the election of Muttahida’s parliamentary leader Aslam Shah Afridi, who bagged 89 votes from the council.

At the outset of the meeting, the council members were informed by the council’s director that the house would have to elect one of them for presiding over the session under the law as the mayor was engaged in official business in Islamabad.

Session wraps up in seven minutes

The treasury members proposed the name of their leader Aslam Afridi, while opposition members belonging to Pakistan Peoples Party nominated Karamullah Waqasi and members of Jamaat-i-Islami nominated Junaid Mukati. Waqasi and Mukati bagged 55 and three votes respectively.

While presiding over the session that lasted for seven minutes, Mr Afridi got two resolutions, one pertaining to award of charged parking contracts at 24 different locations and the other regarding changes in the previous map of the Zulfikarabad Oil Tankers Parking Terminal, approved with the majority vote.

Speaking on the charged parking contracts, Junaid Mukati said that the mayor had not done any major development work for the city during the past three years.

He pointed out that Rs39 billion were allocated for development projects in the KMC’s Rs77bn budget. “Where have these funds gone?” he asked.

Aslam Afridi replied to him that the mayor was not empowered to execute any uplift scheme of over Rs20 million.

Many other opposition members wanted to express their reservation over the award of charged parking contracts, but they could not get a chance as the chair announced that the resolution had been approved by the majority of members.

The house echoed with the opposition members’ demand for debate on the two resolutions which were, however, approved swiftly.

Earlier, the council also offered prayers for departed PML-N leader Kulsum Nawaz and also prayed for early recovery of ailing mother of city councillor Azra Mehmood.

Municipal Commissioner Dr Syed Saif-ur-Rehman was also present in the council meeting.

Tree plantation

City Mayor Wasim Akhtar on Thursday planted a sapling in the Faizan-i-Madina Islami Markaz of Dawat-i-Islami to open the tree plantation campaign there.

He was accompanied by DMC East Chairman Moeed Anwer, Parks Committee chairman Khurram Farhan and other officers on the occasion.

The office bearers and other religious leaders of Dawat-i-Islami welcomed the mayor and said that they had set a target of planting one billion trees all over the country for which every Dawat-i-Islami member would plant at least 12 saplings.

The Karachi mayor called this a good omen for the city that religious organisations were also taking initiative in tree plantation and other steps aimed at the betterment of the city.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2018