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It’ll be easier to work for PPP-backed mayor in Karachi: Murtaza Wahab

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  • We want to solve the mayor’s issue in a political way, says Wahab.
  • Situation will improve, If there is no interference, he says.
  • “Has world not seen, JI was number one in polls?” JI leader asks.

A Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-backed mayor for Karachi would be able to manage the city’s matters better compared to someone from another party, Murtaza Wahab — PPP’s nominee for the top slot — said Monday.

“Becoming the mayor isn’t a matter of ego. If a person belonging to any party other than the PPP gets elected as the mayor, then they’ll complain about administrative powers,” Wahab told Geo News’ Shahzeb Khanzada.

Wahab, who served as Karachi administrator from August 2021 to December 2022, said: “Since PPP is in power in both the federal and provincial governments, it will be easy to run the affairs of the Karachi mayor belongs to PPP.”

Furthermore, he said, only 8 or 9 representatives of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — which threw its weight behind Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman for the coveted post last month — attended a JI meeting recently, adding that the latter was not likely to have enough support for the post.

It is pertinent to mention here that elections for Karachi mayor are to be conducted on June 15, and ahead of the appointment, PPP and JI are two of the biggest contenders for the post. Both parties are engaged in a heated battle for the position, each claiming that it has the most voters.  

“We want to solve the mayor’s issue in a political way,” Wahab said.

Moreover, he conceded that PPP has made mistakes in the past.

“There was criticism that we did not have buses and ambulances, but they can be seen today,” he said, referring to the recently launched People’s Bus Service.

He added that there was criticism on the issue of infrastructure in the city, but that too is being improved.

“Work is being done in Karachi,” Wahab said.

We are working to improve the sewage system, the playgrounds, and the infrastructure of the city, he said.

“Road construction is going on in the site industrial area. Korangi Causeway used to sink in the rain, we have improved it. Work on the Malir Expressway is progressing rapidly,” he added, confirming that the section from Qayyumabad to Shah Faisal would be completed by the end of the year.

Wahab further said that resources are very important for developmental work to continue.

“If there is no interference in administrative and political matters, the situation will improve.

“Let the management do the work,” he said, adding that if the PPP is allowed to work with any interference, the party will deliver.

‘JI is number one’

JI’s candidate for mayor Naeem, speaking on the same show, rejected PPP’s claims for the top post.

Rejecting the PPP’s claims that PTI would not support JI, the party’s Karachi chief, Naeem, said: “Who told them we invited everyone? They do not have complete information, yet they are confident they will appoint the Karachi mayor.”

“They have experience of breaking other parties, but they are dealing with JI for the first time,” he said.

However, he said that there was no “enmity” between the two sides.

“They must accept that our numbers are greater. They will have to end the mentality that they have had since the ‘70s that they will not agree with the mandate even if the country breaks.”

“We have no issues with negotiations,” he said.

If their position had truly been number one, it would have been a different matter, but has the world not seen that JI came out on top?

He then added that the election commission and the RO were used to change election results.

“Even today we are present in the Islamabad High Court and will now be going to the Supreme Court over the matter of six Union Councils (UCs)… then there were 5-6 they took through recounting. Then they took 10-12 seats of the PTI.”

If they had genuinely, we would have accepted. However, they cannot expect us to comply if they snatch seats.

Naeem further said that both JI and PTI individually had more votes than PPP, and stated that both his party and PTI were working together.

“We are in contact with PTI members but we do not want to put all our cards on the table yet, lest they go and start nabbing PTI members who support us.”

He further said that he had spoken to the high court and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to normalise the matter and reiterated that JI was PTI’s “custodian” in Karachi.

“We are trying to provide relief and protection to them,” he said.

Elections

Atta Tarar’s triumph over NA-127 in the LHC is contested

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The victory of Attaullah Tarar, the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) from Lahore’s NA-127 constituency in the general elections on February 8 has been contested in the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Samiullah Khan’s victory from PP-145 has also been contested. The petitions will be heard by Election Tribunal Judge Sultan Tanveer. The petitions have included the Pakistani Election Commission (ECP) and other parties as parties.

In the meantime, Attaullah Tarar stated during a discussion with Miss Zoe Ware, the Political Counselor of the British High Commission, that fake news, misinformation, and disinformation were global issues that needed to be managed.

According to the minister, fake news is the largest issue on social media, and the government is working to address it.

The conference covered a wide range of topics, including the two nations’ relationship and how to foster media collaboration. Collaboration in the drama and cinema industries was also covered.

According to Attaullah Tarar, social media verification should be adopted by journalists, and a global code of conduct for social media usage should be created.

Miss Zoe Ware thanked Attaullah Tarar on taking over as Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) on establishing the cabinet.

She was given the assurance that the UK diplomat will work with her to promote bilateral ties between Pakistan and the UK.

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Pakistan

US commitment to resolving Pakistan’s energy crisis is prioritized

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According to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, Pakistan was assisted by the United States in producing an extra 4,000 megawatts of sustainable energy.

According to him, these kinds of initiatives have given Pakistan more capacity to produce energy, allowing it to power millions of people.

The spokesman restated that both nations will cooperate through the green alliance to address the environmental issues.

At a news briefing, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “Earlier, the United States advised Pakistan to halt the Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline Project, as engaging in business with Iran poses the risk of encountering U.S. sanctions.”

“We always advise everyone that doing business with Iran carries the risk of encountering our sanctions, and we would advise everyone to consider that very carefully,” he continued. “I’m not going to preview any potential sanctions.”

He said, “We do not support this pipeline going forward, as the Assistant Secretary made clear last week.”

The Pakistan-Iran pipeline project was approved for completion a few months ago by the caretaker administration in Pakistan. But after this permission, Pakistan received an official statement from the US expressing its worries. Pakistan again put a stop to the project’s execution when the United States expressed concerns.

Miller said, “We condemn the attack on a convoy of PRC engineers in Pakistan,” in response to a query. Miller also denounced the terrorist attack on Chinese engineers in Pakistan. We offer our sincere condolences to all impacted by the incident and are extremely saddened by the deaths and injuries incurred.

He declared, “Terrorists have caused enormous suffering to the Pakistani people, and Chinese nationals living in Pakistan have also been the targets of terrorist strikes.” Such acts of terror should not occur in any nation.

In response to a question concerning a letter from Pakistani judges, the spokesperson stated that while he had seen the letter, he had not yet conferred with his colleagues and would not be making any comments.

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Pakistan

Fazlur Rehman says the government led by Shehbaz won’t be able to deliver

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Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), expressed doubts on Wednesday over the viability of the Shehbaz Sharif administration, stating that he believes the new system will fail if citizens go to the streets.

Fazlur Rehman stated on Wednesday’s “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath” segment of Geo News that “the parliament will likely be a rubber stamp.” There are simply too many obstacles for this government to handle. In the end, politicians will be held accountable for all of their shortcomings.”

The “crime is committed by someone else and the politicians take responsibility,” he said, calling it bizarre. The leader of JUI-F declared that his organization will demonstrate against the establishments that had turned the elections into a “game.”


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Fazl has previously said that he would abstain from the by-elections for the National Assembly and provincial assembly seats. In addition, he declared that on April 25, following Ramadan, he will start a protest campaign against the purported election manipulation from Balochistan.

“We firmly believe that there will be a rigged general election in 2024. And the factor that changed the outcome would be our aim. We reject the findings that led to the formation of this government,” he declared.

The leader of JUI-F stated that they disagreed with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa election results.

“[Earlier] the issues with the PTI were ideological and not election-related,” he said.

He stated that the party had not yet made the decision to work with the PTI. He did concede, though, that the Imran Khan-led party’s attitude has changed for the better. He remarked that it was a positive attitude and that it would not be a problem if the two parties moved together.

Fazl also revealed that he told Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister, that he thought of him as a new blue-eyed boy during their meeting.

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