KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party has invited its three rival parties in Karachi to sit together in order to deal with the challenges of the possible influx of Afghan refugees in the provincial metropolis.

“The situation in Afghanistan is very serious and it seems that Afghan refugees are going to storm Karachi once again. I urge the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, Pak Sarzameen Party and Jamaat-i-Islami to come forward and talk to us as to how this could be prevented,” Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Shah told reporters after inaugurating a public library in district West.

The MQM-P, PSP and JI have been protesting against the PPP-led government in Sindh for what they called neglecting Karachi in infrastructure development and depriving its youths of government employment, etc.

Nasir Shah says a consensus strategy needed to stop likely influx of Afghan refugees in Karachi

The information minister, who also holds the portfolio of local government department, did not extend the offer to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf as his emphasis was on the three parties which he termed “stakeholders of Karachi”.

He said all stakeholders should come up with a strategy to stop the possible influx of Afghan refugees as it was emerging as an important issue for Karachi.

Mr Shah, without mentioning the name of any party, said that they backed out from their stance against the controversial National Census 2017, but this issue needed immediate attention.

Commenting on reports about emergence of a new alliance against the PPP in interior Sindh to contest upcoming local government elections, he said his party was not afraid of any alliance and the same people were defeated by his party in the Badin by-election recently.

About Saturday’s press conference by the MQM-P’s Khawaja Izharul Hasan in which he condemned the “insensitivity” of the Sindh government and K-Electric towards the death of an expectant father due to electrocution in rain, the minister said the Muttahida leader used foul language and he should understand that his politics of extending threats would not work.

Mr Shah said the PPP did not believe in the politics of hatred and for it Urdu speaking community was equally important as Sindhis and Balochs were.

Earlier, Minister Shah inaugurated first library in an Orangi Town area in district West under the provincial government’s ‘library in each UC programme’.

Speaking on the occasion, he said that each UC shall establish one library within one month and at least one library would be established in 1,526 UCs across the province.

The minister said that libraries of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and district municipal corporations were being upgraded.

He said that the infrastructure of district West was being improved while water problem in the area would be resolved soon.

He said that jobs would be given to the youth of the district on merit at the UC level and no outsider would get employment in the district.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2021