KARACHI: Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday said that the Jamaat-i-Islami would not have won such a number of seats in the local government elections, if the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan had not boycotted the polls.

He said that the Pakistan Peoples Party had requested the MQM-P to not to boycott the election, but they decided to do so. “As a result their votes went to the JI, which was otherwise not in the position to take such a number of seats,” he claimed while speaking to journalists after presiding over the convocation of Napa at Hindu Gymkhana.

The chief minister said that the PPP had emerged as the single largest party in the local government elections and therefore, it had the right to have its mayor.

Responding to a question, he said there been some compulsions and that was why the provincial government wanted to delay the elections, otherwise, the PPP would have taken more seats than it took.

Says PPP is the single largest party and Karachi mayor is its right

Mr Shah said that in the history of the city, the PPP appointed its administrator (Barrister Murtaza Wahab) for the first time and what he had delivered was not a secret to Karachiites. “Our party has the history of serving this city and its people and Inshallah we would be serving them as chief ministers and mayors,” he said.

Talking about rehabilitation of flood-affected people, Mr Shah said that he had convened a post-Geneva conference on February 8 in which donor agencies would be given projects for the financial support they had pledged at Geneva.

The CM said that over two million houses had been damaged. “We have conducted their survey which was a gigantic task and now just after the conference we would start distribution money through well-reputed NGOs which have been made partners for the housing project.

Replying to another question, Mr Shah said that around 20,000 school buildings had been damaged by the heavy rains and flood. “In such dangerous buildings students could not be allowed to take classes,” he said and went on saying that therefore the provincial government had decided to house such schools in tents so that the education process of children could go on.

Responding to a question about Safe City, the CM said only installation of cameras was not enough, but the police had also to be strengthened as well.

He said that the PPP was the worst victim of terrorism and they would never allow terrorists to get foothold here. “We all, as a nation, have to defeat them [terrorism] with our vision, our unity, our policies and our patriotism,” he said and added they were the enemies of the country and religion otherwise they wouldn’t have exploded bombs in mosques and killed our brothers.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2023