KARACHI: Mayor Karachi Wasim Akhtar on Wednesday said he would not flee the country after his tenure comes to an end.
"I am not going to escape anywhere, and would continue to serve the city to the best of my capabilities. Everybody knows that those who had escaped in the past were brought back, forcibly," he added.
The Mayor expressed these views after inaugurating Queens Garden in UC-22 North Nazimabad.
A few days back Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal who is a staunch critic of Wasim's party MQM-P had urged the judiciary and the government to immediately place the names of Mayors of Karachi and Hyderabad to the Exit Control List (ECL) so that they would not be able to flee the country 'to avoid any possible action against them for the corruption they have done in their tenure' which is about to end.
Wasim expressed displeasure over deplorable condition of Karachi after rain and said that the city has no infrastructure to face heavy rains.
Rain water would have not entered into homes of the people had the provincial government carried out drains cleanliness on time. Karachiites faced miseries due to incompetence of Sindh government. Authorities concerned should pay seriousness towards issues of Karachi.
Akhtar said that the beautiful park was established on a 5.5 acre land adding that there were heaps of garbage and animals offal but now the park has been restored to its original shape which is a gift for the citizens.
District Central Chairman Rehan Hashmi, Chairman Parks Committee Khurram Farhan and others were also present on the occasion.
He said that uplift works initiated in the past are near to completion and many development schemes have also been included in the current fiscal year's budget for welfare of the people.
Akhtar said that he also kept visiting different areas of city during the recent rains but didn't make photo session of it. Those who had done China cutting in the city are roaming freely.
"My daughter toured Islamabad earlier and asked as to why infrastructure of Karachi is not as good as the federal capital's. The answer is the incompetence of Sindh government that there is no metro bus in Karachi like other parts of the country," said the Mayor.
He was of the view that he wanted to inaugurate the park way earlier but could not do so due to pandemic and heavy rains. He appealed to the citizens to preserve the park.
Akhtar said that he served Karachi with sincerity throughout four years. He hoped that people of Karachi will once again vote for the Kite and Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan and next
Mayor would also belong to the party.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020