Spokesperson for the Mayor of Karachi and Parliamentary Leader of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in KMC, Karamullah Waqasi, has rejected recent statements by Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman and Muneem Zafar Khan, calling them contrary to facts, political point-scoring, and an attempt to mislead the public.
Karamullah Waqasi said that those accusing PPP of corruption and incompetence should first review their own party’s performance. He stated that the issues of a large and complex city like Karachi have accumulated over decades and require practical measures, not mere press conferences and slogan-based politics.
He added that over the past 32 years, six mayors from Jamaat-e-Islami and MQM have governed Karachi, yet they failed to deliver any meaningful improvements, leaving PPP to bear the burden of their inefficiencies. He remarked that Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, now the Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, appears more focused on Karachi through press conferences despite being based in Mansoorah, with little concern for other cities like Lahore or Peshawar.
Waqasi said that the leadership of Jamaat-e-Islami, seeing its political future threatened by PPP’s development projects in Karachi, has become limited to political point-scoring out of frustration. He emphasized that PPP has taken concrete steps for the city’s improvement in line with its leadership’s vision, while Jamaat-e-Islami remains confined to criticism for the sake of criticism.
He also rejected Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman’s statement describing Karachi as devastated, saying that ongoing development projects, infrastructure improvements, road construction and rehabilitation, drainage projects, and restoration of municipal services clearly demonstrate PPP’s seriousness and active role in improving the city.
Regarding delays in projects like Red Line and K-IV, Waqasi said it is misleading to place sole responsibility on the provincial government, as these are federal and inter-agency projects.
He further stated that Jamaat-e-Islami’s demand for an empowered local government system is merely a political slogan. In reality, he said, PPP is the only party that has taken practical steps to strengthen the local government system and ensure resource allocation. The challenges faced by KMC and other municipal bodies stem from past policies and unequal distribution of powers, which are being addressed gradually.
Responding to Muneem Zafar Khan’s remarks on education, Waqasi termed the description of Sindh government’s educational initiatives as ‘ignorance for all’ highly irresponsible and contrary to facts. He said PPP has launched multiple initiatives in the education sector, including school rehabilitation, teacher recruitment, and provision of facilities. While some issues may exist, serious efforts are underway to resolve them, whereas Jamaat-e-Islami is merely presenting statistics for political gain.
Waqasi concluded that instead of playing a constructive role in resolving Karachi’s issues, Jamaat-e-Islami is engaged in politics of criticism and protest. He reaffirmed that PPP is not only a representative party of the city but is also committed to public service and will continue to take all possible steps to resolve Karachi’s problems.
He added that the public is aware and makes decisions based on performance and facts, and cannot be misled by mere statements and allegations.