Operation in Karachi paying off now, says Nawaz

KARACHI: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday reiterated that the ongoing operation in Karachi was neither any party nor group specific, as it was against crime and terrorism.

Addressing local PML-N leaders and prominent members here,
he said the menaces being suffered by Karachi were inter-linked and the operation would continue until peace was fully restored in the metropolis.

“This will continue till the reputation of Karachi as the City of Lights is restored in the truest sense,” he remarked. The prime minister said the things were improving and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers should focus on strengthening the party in Sindh, including Karachi.

This was important because the party would take active part in the general election 2018 from the port city and other parts of the province, he added.

Nawaz Sharif said the PML-N assumed power in 2013 when Karachi was facing a wide range of problems, mainly poor law and order, and terrorism.

“The government through close consultation with all political parties had initiated an operation that is paying off now,” he added.
He said the PML-N government in last four years had played an important role in improving the situation as presently normalcy had returned to a great extent in Karachi, with hustle and bustle at its commercial centers. The business community was now feeling quite secured.

The people should give due credit to the PML-N government, which had taken bold decisions at the right time, without any reluctance, he added.Nawaz Sharif said he was fully conscious that the Karachi residents were presently facing a big challenge of handling garbage, water scarcity and poor sanitation due to inadequacies.

“We are striving hard to ensure that provincial and city governments play their due role in addressing the situation,” he said.

Karachi, he said, was once used to be one of the best cities in the world, however, the situation had changed drastically and its people were now facing severe difficulties.

The prime minister said Karachi would definitely witness marked improvement and development as seen in Lahore and other urban centers of the country.

Work on Karachi-Lahore Motorway, he said, had also been initiated while its Karachi-Hyderabad patch was near completion. Green Line Bus project, he added, would be completed by end of the current year while work on the Thar Coal project was also underway.
“Completion of all the projects will accelerate the pace of progress in entire Sindh,” he said.

The prime minister said the people of Sindh, including Karachi, had tremendous love for the country. They were fully committed to the national interests, which, he said, was witnessed during the recent held public meeting addressed by him at Thatta.

He urged the local PML-N leadership to forge unity in their ranks and work with full devotion and dedication so that the party could perform well in the next genelral election.

Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair, federal ministers Khawaja Saad Rafiq and Dr Ahsan Iqbal and Senator Nehal Hashmi were also present on the occasion.