ISLAMABAD: Intervening in the Karachi’s worsening cleanliness problem, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday issued directives for early removal of waste and garbage from the city, urging elected representatives of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) to vehemently take part in the ‘Clean Karachi’ campaign.

“Karachi is a commercial hub of the country but past maladministration marred the traditional beauty of the ‘City of Quaid’ and made the life of people miserable. This situation must be eliminated on a permanent basis,” the prime minister said in a meeting with Minister For Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Zaidi at the Prime Minister Office (PMO) on Friday.

According the PMO, Prime Minister Khan took serious note of the shortage of garbage transfer stations in Karachi and issued directives for increasing their numbers under a comprehensive strategy to ensure proper disposal of waste in the metropolis. “The PTI’s members of national and provincial assemblies elected from Karachi should enthusiastically take part in clean Karachi campaign,” he said.

The minister for maritime affairs apprised the prime minister on the campaign’s progress.

It has been learnt that the war of words between Mr Zaidi, Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar and leaders of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) compelled Prime Minister Khan to intervene into the situation.

The minister for maritime affairs took an initiative to clean the city without any assistance of the government and claimed that he could clean the city in two weeks.

However, PPP leaders recently accused Mr Zaidi for turning the situation bad to worse by lifting waste from the drains and placing it on the roadside.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2019