My office enjoins upon me to give attention to widely divergent areas so that I should know the pain of the common man. I should feel their sorrows and sufferings and should do my utmost to solve their problems. I should fulfil my commitments and with the utmost sincerity I should try to cope with my responsibilities. It is important to identify the problems, which is a difficult task. Everyone talks about problems but no one comes up with a solution. We have a few big problems - education, health, law & order, crime, unemployment, water, electricity, gas transport.
After Pakistan's coming into being the rate at which the population of Karachi has grown is unprecedented. No one had envisioned the extent of the growth of the city in terms of both area and population. Now this in itself has become a gigantic problem.
Everyday a new problem or issue raises its head. We attend to one, soon after another emerges. Here a line of a couplet comes to my mind.
The constant encouragement of the people, their prayers, and their morale boosting cooperation makes my resolve deeper to honour my commitments and to struggle constantly to live up to their expectations.
Here I think it is necessary to say that every action that one takes has some collateral effects. Sometimes one's attention is diverted from the action to the collateral. This is a problem associated with mega policy.
Because of the increase in population, problems of the city and the province are multiplying. Needs, demands and their expressions are also on the increase. It is a challenging task.
Karachi is a city of the province of Sindh but it is the economic hub of Pakistan, it is also the country's intellectual, economic and political hub. Every mega city has similar problems but their intensity in Karachi is particularly acute.
By the grace of God we have our eyes or every problem and our sincere efforts are on. There is this problem of crime. There is the problem of terrorism. In the minimum of resources we have to confront these issues. We are facing law and order and grave problems of terrorism.
It is most encouraging that the success that we have attained in solving these problems is more than the success attained elsewhere in the country in fighting them.
The cooperation of the people that we have received is responsible for our success otherwise to fight these off in the meager resources we have is impossible. Aside from these we are fighting off non organised crime which is bred by unemployment and economics stresses.
In the organised crime can be counted extremism which is responsible for suicide bombings bombers are a menace and then we have organised gangsters.
In this perspective the most important factor is un employment. We have far too many problems. There is wide spread poverty. We are lifting the ban on employment. It is hoped that more employment opportunities will come into existence. We have asked the 'Finance' that it should generate 20 to 30 thousand new job opportunities in Sindh.
We are trying to restore the confidence of the private sector. We are trying to solve their problems. We are making an all out effort to attract investment in the province. Foreign investors can be likened to a flock of pigeons. They come one by one but if they are disturbed the entire flock flies away.
In this sector also we have many problems. It is a difficult task but God willing we will find the solution of every problem. Closed issues have began to open up. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
On the official level we are making a textile city which will create job opportunities for 80 thousand people. In addition to this we are leaving no stone unturned to attract foreign investments.
We are holding seminars and meetings. And now the Americans have agreed to set up the biggest steel mill in the region. A United States delegation met the President.
They also had a meeting with me. They are willing to set up the plant in Karachi. But this will take some time to materialise. Our aim is to provide jobs for every one. We want security for all. We want prosperity for all. We want lifestyles of the people to improve.
We want peace to flourish and prevail. These are all our aim and God willing we attained them. Things are improving. The confidence of the industrialists is being restored.
They talked of shifting their capital elsewhere, now they talk of expending their industrial units. All these are happy signs.
I am eager to bring about prosperity in Sindh and to promote peace. In the context of education I have toured the entire problems. A lot is being done in education but a lot of damage has also occurred.
In the interior of Sindh every district has 2500 schools; of these 500 are middle schools while high schools are between 40 or 50. In my view this is disproportionate. The disparity is evident. Students who move up from the lower grade, where will they go.
There is no concept of this. The President of Pakistan has tasked the federal set-up of education in Sindh to find a solution. Dr Naseem is working hard for the promotion of primary education in Sindh. Sometime ago the President was here. We went into the interior of Sindh.
We went to a remote area of Thatta where a primary school was set up. The real problem is of the mindset. Until education is wide spread, there will be no awakening.
Education is a big sector which is beset with huge problems. God willing we will cope with our responsibilities. We have some excellent plans for the 11 universities in Sindh. I may mention here that last year when I called upon the President I briefed him about Karachi and Sindh. I informed him that the number of the Pushto and Punjabi speaking people and the ones settling down from other places in Karachi is making the population of the city grow constantly, therefore the city needs federal support to cope with this swell. I had taken estimates of 4 billion rupees each for Karachi and Hyderabad. You will be surprised to know the commitment and the depth of sincerity of our leadership at the federal level.
The discussion that I had with the President in which the most important matters were discussed, he showed a very keen interest and he gave a package of 29 billion rupees. Work has commenced as a result of this package in the city besides the discussion on education resulted in the grant of a package of 30 billion rupees.
Out of this, half will be spent on development and half on education matters. All these decisions are of historic significance. I will propose to the students and the parents that they should always uphold merit and they should make a place for themselves based on merit. Competition and the quest for better things ever is the essence of our time.
I have mentioned extremism before. In this context I will say that the people who have caught in recent acts of terrorism, when they were studied and their social and family backgrounds were investigated into, it turned out that most of the terrorists were victims of the education and motivation of the 'moulvis' who in their sermons and speeches gave a wrong color and dimension to Islam.
You say your prayers in the mosques and after the prayers you also listen to the Khutba. You should take notice of the fact that the ideas that the Imam or the moulvi is propagating, does your mind accept them. If it doesn't accept, you should get up and ask him, brother what are you saying? Why are you saying all this? If you can't do this, inform us.
We will sort them out. Because to finish off this kind of extremism is vital for our society and to project the true picture of Islam is important for the entire world.
I wish to inform the Industrialists that right from the beginning I have focused on one thing and that is that the Industrialists are the backbone of our country. They should compare the cost of doing business in this city and the cost of doing business in other cities, in other provinces and in other countries.
For your guidance let me tell you that we have settled the matter with the KESC and the disparity in the cost of electricity produced by the KESC and WAPDA is being addressed.
I will not mince works about 'karo-kari'. To promote awareness on this issue we have organised seminars, discussions and debates. We have generated dialogue, we have instituted criticism.
Someone said to me that I should not take up the issue as this could hurt me politically. I told him that to accept a wrong thing and 'zulm' is not in my political book nor will I become a victim of this kind of expedience rather I will with all the force at my command to eradicate this kind of inhuman cruelty Legislation was needed to finish 'karo kari' and because of our fullest attention on the issue, the National assembly debated on it and gave a positive decision.
As soon as I took up the charge of my office, I issued an ordinance to ban extortions. Anti-bhatta Ordinance was issued. The facts and figures that I have collected on this issue are because of the cooperation of the people. In the last six to eight months we have trapped 62 cases of 'bhatta'. We need more cooperation of the people.
The Home Department has given advertisements and their phone numbers on which people can reach them. People should cooperate with us. We want to finish off these things from our cities and our province.
In my entire struggle the credit goes to my team which has been working night and day with me. I am grateful to God that He has given me a sincere team to work with. In fact these people are doing the real work. They execute, they follow up and they implement. I will give full marks to my entire team for their sincere efforts.
There is another thing when I was outside the country, I used to think about my country, province and city. I used to discuss the matter with the people. When one is away from the country, one's vision grows.
"Yeh sard raat... etc" in Urdu
I want to give the credit for what I have achieved to a person who is responsible for my political and moral training and that person is no other than Altaf Bhai. I want to give him the entire credit. The reflection that you see in me for the pains and the sufferings of the people, just think how much of it is reflected in the heart and soul of Altaf Bhai. In this context I will give the entire credit to Altaf Bhai.
I am extremely grateful to General Pervez Musharraf whose cooperation and guidance has always been with me. The training of my parents, the presence of my wife Shahina Ebad and these days the assistance of my staff has been of paramount significance in my success.
I don't want to take any credit for whatever I have done for the artists, writers and poets. It was my duty. If something is brought to my notice and I don't address it, I will not be doing justice to my office.
Let me narrate a small incident here. One day I got a phone call very late around three or four o'clock in the morning from Fatima Surraya Bajiya. Bajiya said, "You are still awake." I said, "Bajiya, I keep awake so that the people of my province should sleep in peace." I am telling you a fact. Night and day we are working for the well being of the people, to make them progress. We are doing whatever we can do for achieving these.
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