KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Thursday that asserted that his party was devising policies and contingencies for any fallout from the Afghan situation.
Bilawal said while addressing a press conference after a meeting at the Chief Minister House in Karachi that Pakistan would have to face tests in the coming days and the PPP was the only political party that could handle them.
“Pakistan will face a loss from the situation developing in Afghanistan and there will be a severe blowback. If anywhere the blowback and reaction will be felt and seen, it will be in Karachi which is home to one of the largest populations of Pakhtuns in the world.
“If the situation in Afghanistan worsens then there will be effects on our environment. We are doing our preparation and making our policies on how to do the kind of development and ready the kind of system in Sindh and our capital Karachi to deal with the coming influx and blowback,” said the PPP chairman, according to a report by Dawn.
Bilawal stressed that there was a heavy responsibility to not only find solutions for the basic problems of the people but to deal with the “difficulties we are seeing in the coming tomorrow”.
“God forbid we will have to see the time of extremism and terrorism again which we had gotten out of. So we will only be able to confront it when the PPP has a stake, has a government and representation.”
Bilawal’s comments came the same day as Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah chaired the 26th meeting of the apex committee where the Afghan situation and its potential fallout were discussed.
Owing to the prevailing situation in Afghanistan, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah earlier on Thursday ordered concerned authorities to keep a close check on the proscribed organizations across the province.
Chairing the meeting of the Sindh Apex Committee, the Sindh CM said the situation in Afghanistan is changing dramatically and in this context, strict security arrangements should be put in place in the province.
He asked the law enforcement agencies to keep a close check on the proscribed organizations and the hate content from social media.
Additionally, the chief minister ordered for hateful content and suspicious activities on social media to be monitored. “Some elements will try to incite sectarian hatred, which should not be tolerated under any circumstances,” CM Shah said.
Commenting on the private armed guards roaming on the unregistered vehicles in the province, he said there is a ban on displaying arms in Sindh and such vehicles having private security guards should be impounded.
The work on the registration of the security guards is underway, he maintained. The chief minister also ordered to launch a crackdown against the unregistered and AFR vehicles running in the province.
Additional Inspector General-Special Branch Ghulam Nabi Memon too informed the meeting that clashes between the Afghan government and Taliban could bring illegal immigrants to Sindh, particularly Karachi.
During the presser, Bilawal noted that there had been an improvement in administrative and development works but more political ownership and checks and balances were needed.
“I have given a special task to the chief minister to find a solution for all of Karachi where we can solve problems of people with all checks and balances,” Bilawal said.
He added that a political representative should be selected in every city district who was familiar with the people’s problems, could monitor the local administration and serve as an access point for the public.
Bilawal said the issues of water supply, transport and trash collection were the “most important targets” for Karachi’s administration. He mentioned the various developments taking place to resolve the aforementioned issues.
“You and the Sindh government have to deliver on these three issues.”
Predicting that the PPP would form the next government, Bilawal said Karachi’s seats and its ownership were necessary for that to become reality. “This is a prime opportunity for the PPP,” Bilawal stressed.
“It is very necessary for the country that a PPP [majority] government is made but also for Karachi that the PPP comes in front from this city so we can defend it and deliver its rights to its citizens.”
Bilawal said injustices had been meted out against the city in the past and were still continuing, with the PPP the only political party to talk about them.
The PPP chairman called upon members of his party to stop their squabbling on a “war footing” for six to eight months. He said the general elections could happen at any time and the PPP had to start its preparations for them from today.
with additional input from INP
