Hafiz Naeem accuses PPP of taking Karachi's mandate and denying residents their rights

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has accused the Pakistan Peoples Party of taking over Karachi's public mandate. He said this denied not only his party but also the city's 35 million people their rights, according to reports by Daily Pakistan, 24 News and Nawa-i-Waqt.

He also alleged that the establishment had imposed people on the city who, in his words, knew only corruption and looting.

He made the remarks at a ceremony to inaugurate a model mohalla, streets and roads at Rifah-e-Aam Chowk, Malir Halt. The work was carried out under TMC Model Colony. Speakers included Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi chief Munim Zafar Khan, Airport district chief Muhammad Ashraf, Sindh Assembly member Muhammad Farooq and Model Colony Town Chairman Zafar Ahmed.

Hafiz Naeem said Jamaat-e-Islami town administrations had carried out development work with their own resources, because the PPP-led Sindh government did not provide funds. He said work was under way on streets, park restoration, road cleaning and garbage collection points.

He said the roads had been full of dirt, broken paths and potholes during the local government elections. He said paving blocks were now being installed and cleanliness and public facilities were improving.

Daily Pakistan Urdu also reported further remarks. He said Karachi contributes about half of the country's tax and revenue, and that residents had wanted a Jamaat-e-Islami mayor.

On education, he said Jamaat-e-Islami's nine towns have about 150 schools, of which 73 had been repaired or renovated. He said Karachi has about 3,500 government schools, and that Sindh's education budget is 601 billion rupees for about 41,000 schools. He cited a Ghotki school with 49 teachers assigned to 23 children.

He also said 1.6 million people have registered for the Banu Qabil programme, which offers free IT courses that he said other institutes charge 50,000 to 70,000 rupees or more for.