It is astonishing that national planners have so far failed to provide even the basic necessities of life – water and electricity – to the largest city of Pakistan. There can hardly be a worse example of bad governance. The tragic deaths of over 1,000 people in Karachi due to heatstroke in a couple days demand that the leadership of all political parties should sit together and devise a policy as to how to solve the basic water and power issues of the metropolis.
These thoughts were shared by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq while addressing an Iftar reception hosted for Karachiites at Idara Noor-e-Haq on Saturday. He said Karachiites had been braving immense problem. Due to prolonged drought coupled with recent wave of blistering heat had resulted into deaths of hundreds of people, while thousands others had been admitted to hospitals. He said the whole Pakistani nation was worried about the sad situation.
The JI leader said Ramzan is the month of love, sympathy and compassion. “It gives us the lesson to take care of weaker and vulnerable sections of our society. Tragedies and hardships are the part and parcel of life, but it is saddening that we do not see the government sharing the sorrows of people. The government is like father and mother for its citizens. Like loving parents it takes care of its children when they are in trouble. But sadly we do not see this kind of government anywhere.”
He said: “The present challenge in Karachi demands that they should for a moment forget their politics and think about our people. There is a dire need to differentiate between the wrong and right. It is basic teachings of Islam to support the people who are right. Islam wants to give justice to society. Sadly in our society there is no justice. A handful of privileged people of corrupt elite class possess over 95 percent resources of Pakistan. These people rule politics, democracy and assemblies. They are at the helm of affairs be it a democratic government or dictatorial rule in Pakistan. It is need of the hour that the poor masses should learn a lesson from the unwavering unity of this elite class and become united for their basic rights.”
He said: “We want rule of law and constitution. The rule of law should not be selective. During the ongoing Karachi operation, it has been observed that it creates a lot of trouble when influential criminals are arrested. A criminal should be treated as a criminal irrespective of his political and social status and influence. For a peaceful and prosperous Pakistan, it needs a peaceful and prosperous Karachi, but sadly the rulers have kept this mega city a lawless society for the last 20 years. After the recent report of BBC about MQM, it is the responsibility of the government of Pakistan to initiate a deep probe into this serious matter. All the Pakistanis know that Karachi is not a free city. Its institutions, journalists and legal system are not free. If a journalist dares to write truth, he is found dead the very next day.”
He regretted that the government had not yet announced compensation for the heatstroke victims and life pensions for minor children of the poor families who lost their breadwinners in the ongoing heatstroke spell.
He demanded giving Karachi its required water and power. He said the agreement with the KE was still secret. He said the political leadership should be told about this dubious agreement, so that they could annul it and make a fresh agreement safeguarding the rights of Karachiites. He announced to hold a conference of experts and technocrats in a couple of weeks to draft a comprehensive policy on the civic issues of Karachi.