Karachi:Pasban Democratic Party President Altaf Shakoor has regretted that Prime Minister Imran Khan is ignoring the megacity Karachi that has already given him 14 seats and played a crucial role in forming of the PTI government in the Center.
In a statement here Wednesday, Altaf Shakoor regretted that during his recent visit to the megacity, Imran Khan spent hardly eight hours here, which were not sufficient even to even assess the problems faced by Karachi. He said just a few meetings and selective gatherings do not resolve the core problems of the megacity. He said Prime Minister should give this city ample time and preferable stay here for a couple of days every month.
Altaf Shakoor said without 14 seats given by Karachi, Imran Khan would have never become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. He said the PTI government should realize that this megacity has gifted them their government in the Center and leaving this city abandoned and orphaned is not a good political move or even common sense. He said the previous Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif in his whole tenure only spent one night in Karachi, as per media report, and this is why his party could not bag sufficient votes for the megacity. He said it is in the interest of the PTI that Imran Khan should not follow the suit of Nawaz Sharif and give Karachi ample time, attention and resources to make it a true progressive and prosperous megacity.
He said the PTI lawmakers should introduce a constitutional amendment bill in the National Assembly at the earliest to give the megacity constitutional status to Karachi and Lahore, which is their due right. He said the whole world recognizes megacity governments and megacity governance systems, but sadly the Pakistani constitution does not recognize the concept of megacity. He said PTI is in a good position to move constitutional amendment bill for granting constitutional megacity status to both Karachi and Lahore.
Altaf Shakoor said the megacity Karachi is also the revenue engine of the country and it is duty of both federal and provincial government to keep this revenue engine well-oiled. He said ignoring Karachi is tantamount to ignoring the economy of Pakistan. He said the pace of federal-government funded projects for Karachi, especially the Green Line bus rapid transit system, is painfully slow, which need to be accelerated on priority. Similarly, the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) could not be revived without active and generous support of the federal government. He said the industrial estates in Karachi, particularly the SITE Karachi, are in shambles and serious need attention to improve their civic infrastructure and facilities. He demanded a special mega funds for the megacity.