Change of Schedule: PM Imran will now visit Karachi on Saturday

Imran Khan was scheduled to visit Karachi on Friday

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was scheduled to visit rain-hit Karachi, will now visit the metropolis on Saturday.

The decision regarding the change of prime minister’s scheduled visit to Karachi has been taken during a meeting presided over by Imran Khan on Karachi’s transformation plan.

According to sources, the premier was briefed in detail about the plan during the meeting.

The meeting also apprised PM Imran Khan regarding consultation with all stakeholders and future strategy on Karachi Transformation Plan.

The meeting decided that the premier will now visit Karachi on Saturday where will preside over an important meeting.

Imran Khan was scheduled to visit Karachi on Friday where he would announce new projects for the city.

Presiding over a high-level meeting regarding Karachi Transformation Plan (KTP) in Islamabad, PM Imran Khan said unfortunately resolution of multiple problems like provision of clean water, sewerage, solid waste management, cleaning of nullahs, and transport, being faced by people of Karachi has been ignored in the past.

He said recent rains have exposed administrative lacunas as well as caused difficulties for the people of the metropolis of which the federal government is fully cognizant.

Talking about KTP, the prime minister said that an empowered and effective system is being formulated to ensure implementation on the timelines set for various projects, which is vital for the success of the plan. He said divided administrative powers were the biggest reason behind Karachi s problems. He said attention of federal and provincial governments have time and again been drawn towards this issue.

PM Khan said it is need of the hour that powers related to water supply scheme, sewage treatment and disposal, solid waste management and building control authority be delegated to an authorized administrator or local government.

The meeting reviewed the KTP for the resolution of longstanding problems of the people of Karachi.

It was attended by Federal Ministers Asad Umar, Shibli Faraz, Syed Amin-ul-Haq, Syed Ali Haider Rizvi, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal and secretaries of relevant departments, while Governor Sindh Imran Ismail participated in the meeting via video link.

After the record-breaking rain devastated Karachi taking dozens of lives and destroying homes, PM Imran Khan had said that the federal government would soon announce a plan for a “permanent solution to the problems” by cleaning river beds, fixing the sewage system and resolving the huge challenge of water supply.

“We will not abandon the people of Karachi in their time of crisis”, the premier said.

On Friday, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail had also reassured the citizens that the federal government is devising a comprehensive strategy to improve the situation of Karachi on priority. He added that PM Khan, after consulting his cabinet members, would soon formally announce the necessary steps to resolve the issues of Karachi – Pakistan’s financial hub and a city of over 16 million.

The governor, who is appointed by the federal government, said there was an urgent need to remove encroachments and illegal dwellings on riverbeds, which is creating issues for the entire city. It was unfortunate that every issue of Karachi was politicised and “no one ever seriously addressed the problems” that aggravated the difficulties in the country’s economic hub.