(PDP) – Newswire Pakistan

February 21, 2023February 22, 2023

Focusing on economy must for survival of country: Altaf Shakoor

Karachi, February 21, 2023 (PPI-OT):Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor here on Tuesday said that focusing on economy is important for saving Pakistan; otherwise, even strong defence sector cannot save the country from collapse like the former USSR. He said that country is touching the line of default only because our successive governments and security agencies ignored economy.

He warned that economy is as important as the defence sector as without a strong economy even a stronger defence sector cannot guarantee the survival of the nation and country. The fate of the former USSR is a glaring proof of this sad fact. He said we made our country an economic power, but even being an economic power alone cannot stop the default.

Altaf Shakoor said that our security apparatus indulged in politics but didn’t care about the economy which is more important than the politics. He said unless the economic conditions of the country are right, it is useless if there is dictatorship, democracy or a controlled democracy. He said it is sad that economically and financially we are a slave nation, even if we are a nuclear nation. He said International Capitalism is our real master and owner and our claim of being an independent country is just a self-deception.

He said all our policies are dictated to us by our real master and owner through its agencies like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB). These lending institutions have made us a beggar, rather a nuclear beggar. We are in fact a nuclear beggar country. He said that unless this sad fact is realized even making one hundred more nuclear bombs would be futile.

He said if today’s world being an economic power is a must to be a military power; otherwise, the fate is being a former USSR. He said our political government and our security apparatus should put the economy on top of their priority list and announce a national economic emergency without further waste of time. He said the present government is too weak to sustain its own decisions like ban on imports or early market closure. Without courageous decision and their full implementation nothing could be achieved of mere announcements and tall claims.

He said that all politicians that are not cooperating to salvage the economy should be put behind the bars. This is the time to sacrifice the politicians for the sake of national survival. Harsh decisions should be taken urgently to salvage Pakistan and Pakistanis. He said the debt trap is a death trap, but our government and ruling elite are trying their best to take yet another loan from the IMF. He asked if this IMF loan would save the country from the economic collapse. He said the IMF loan may provide a breathing space for a few months but it would not let the country break the debt trap, but rather make this trap stronger and deadlier.

Altaf Shakoor suggested essential military training for all young Pakistanis to make a strong reserve military force. This will help in the better defence of the nation that is facing threat of terrorism as now the top policing offices even the largest city of Pakistan, Karachi, are not out of the reach of terrorists. He asked that the NCC training for all college students should be revived.

He asked immediate fuel, gas and electricity rationing to cut fuel imports. He demanded a complete ban on all luxury goods, and an emergency program of import substitution and solarisation. He said trade with China, Russia and other countries should be made in non-dollar currencies to lessen rupee depreciation. He said a free trade block of China, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey should be made to boost regional trade.

Altaf Shakoor warned the government, political parties and security agencies that this is the last chance to save the national economy. He said economy should be given the top most priority and all other considerations should be put on the back burner for the sake of the nation and country.

For more information, contact:
Press Secretary,
Pasban Democratic Party (PDP)
Pasban Central Secretariat
Office # 9, Five Star Center,
Block 11, University Road, Opp. Ibne Sina Hospital,
Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi
Tel: +92-21-34024480-81
Cell: +92-322-2212434
Email: pasban.ppick@gmail.com
Website: www.pasban.org

August 13, 2022August 15, 2022

Poor garbage disposal spreading diseases in Karachi: PDP Chief

Karachi, August 13, 2022 (PPI-OT):Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor has said that poor garbage disposal in Karachi, especially after ongoing monsoon rains, has spread diseases in the megacity, agonizing citizens. This he said in a statement. The PDP chief said that a large number of citizens are visiting hospitals and clinics with complaints of vomiting, diarrhea, fever and other ailments.

He said a large number of patients are children affected due to contaminated water. He said streets are filthy all over the megacity, especially in slum areas, due to non-lifting of garbage. He said huge outbreak of malaria, dengue and typhoid is looming large over the megacity due to gutter mixed rainwater accumulated in different streets and neighbourhoods.

Mr Shakoor said that the garbage lifting system was outsourced in the megacity but the contractor companies are not properly fulfilling their responsibilities and the provincial government has turned its blind eye to this scam. He said poor masses are suffering due to bad governance in garbage lifting sector. He said it costs thousands of rupees for treatment of patients and majority of the poor families could hardly afford these expenses. He said the poor people of Karachi are paying a high price of government failure to ensure proper garbage lifting in the megacity.

Mr Shakoor said the overcrowded government hospitals lack medicines and manpower to cater increased load of patients after large scale contamination of water in the megacity due to the grim post-rains scenario. He said the Sindh health minister and local government minister, as well as, Karachi administrator need to wake up from their deep slumber and ensure proper garbage lifting, opening of choked gutter lines and dewatering of accumulated rainwater from streets. He said Karachi needs a municipal emergency to cope with the situation.

He demanded immediate removal of all illegal structures and slums from the banks of Nullahs. He asked to raze buildings, markets and other structures built over the Nullahs in old town areas of district South in particular and in whole megacity in general. He said without a massive investment in garbage disposal and drainage systems the megacity would continue to suffer in every rainy season.

He demanded to create new garbage disposal landfill sites in the megacity to ensure lifting and disposal of maximum garbage and solid waste from Karachi. He asked to save natural rainwater rivers like Lyari and Malir Rivers from being used as drainage Nullahs. He said urban forests should be developed along the Lyari and Malir rivers on fast-track basis to give the megacity a better tree cover.

July 30, 2022August 1, 2022

Stern action needed to check real estate frauds in Karachi: Altaf Shakoor

Karachi, July 30, 2022 (PPI-OT):Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor here Saturday demanded stern action against growing frauds in land and real estate sector, saying this sector on one hand is giving cover to huge black money and the other it is depriving citizens of their lifetime savings due to widespread frauds.

He said in a statement the land mafia and real estate tycoons are a state behind state in the megacity Karachi and they influence police, administration and politicians through massive bribery. He said the authorities entasked to regulate housing societies and land and building matters in Karachi are filthy corrupt and they don’t take action to stop massive irregularities in their domains.

He said in Islamabad recently, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has canceled the licenses of 14 housing societies for failing to register with the district administration, but such a actions in Karachi by the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) or Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) are virtually unheard. He said in Karachi not only the departments like KMC, DMCs, KDA, SBCA and Board of Revenue assist the land, real estate and builder mafias but police, anti-corruption department, FIA and other agencies also burn the blind eye to them. He said all major political parties also back these mafias as they heavily fund them secretly.

Shakoor said there is huge demand in housing sector of Karachi and millions of people want their own houses. This gives a big leverage to these mafias as the KDA has not announced any new housing scheme in Karachi for decades. He said the Hawksbay Scheme 42 of the Lyari Development Authority has been in limbo for decades. The allottees in this Scheme are yet to take possession of their plots even after paying their full dues as development work is not started in many sectors of this big housing scheme. He said in fact the Scheme 42 Hawksbay is a big exploitation for the citizens of Karachi who have spent their lifetime earning to book plots in it.

Shakoor said acute shortage of housing facilities has helped in spread of slums and shanties in Karachi. He said from Sohrab Goth to Jamali Bridge on M-9 Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway roadside areas are freely encroached upon by private transporters, auto mechanics and shanties dwellers but the National Highway Authority (NHA) and other concerned agencies are not removing these illegal structure due to mega corruption.

He said that in fact whole megacity Karachi is a horrible example of bad governance. He said corrupt officials of the central, local and Sindh governments have made Karachi a heaven of bribery. He said public transport sector in Karachi is in shambles. He said the government has failed to accelerate work on revival of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), while the much awaited second phase of Green Line RBT from Numaish to Tower is yet to be started as both the central and Sindh governments are not interested in developing Karachi and facilitating its citizens.

He said Karachi needs dozens of new housing schemes for low-income people to mitigate acute housing shortage in the megacity. He said illegal slums should be removed and the genuine affecters should be provided alternate shelters while the land mafia behind illegal slum settlements should be punished as per law. He said action should be taken against irregularities and frauds of private housing schemes in Karachi on war footing basis and a fool proof mechanism should be devised to check land and real estate frauds in the megacity.

July 26, 2022July 27, 2022

Building of 500 water storages in Karachi demanded

Karachi, July 26, 2022 (PPI-OT):Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor on Tuesday demanded the construction of 500 small water storage reservoirs to mitigate acute shortage of potable water in the megacity of Karachi. He said in a statement that the megacity braved an agonizing shortage of potable water as almost half of the megacity caters to water needs through tankers, which was a very costly and highly unhygienic way of water supply.

He said the water storage system of Karachi was designed by colonial British rulers and after creation of Pakistan, it had not seen major improvements to meet the needs of fastly bulging population of the megacity. He said in monsoon season, a plenty of rainwater was wasted as there were no rainwater storage facilities.

Shakoor said there were more than two dozen towns in Karachi and ideally each union council of them should have its own water storage and supply system integrated to the KWSB main lines as well as rainwater harvesting system storages if created. He said the basins of Lyari, Malir, Mole and other small rainwater streams were ideal for constructing hundreds of mini check dams to store rainwater during monsoon. This would not only cater to the needs of the surrounding areas but also help rise water table level of the megacity, which is very low.

Shakoor said that the small hills of North Nazimabad and Orangi were ideal for both water storage and water tanks built above them would help in better supply due to gravity force. He said in fact the master plan of Karachi envisaged a big water reservoir and park over the hills near Katti Pahari, but the Sindh government had no time or interest to think about the megacity.

He said the lone desalination plant of Karachi, Cogen, in DHA, didn’t work for a single day after its completion several decades ago: why? It is a big no-no to answer this question. He said ideally, Karachi had got both sunshine and sea water. Construction of desalination plants on solar power or wind energy can easily mitigate water shortage at least in the coastal areas and island villages, but again the question is how to persuade the ignorant rulers to think about these out of the box solutions, says PDP chief.

He said if the government could spare a few billion rupees to construct some 500 small water reservoirs dotted over the whole megacity, they would surely help in lessening water shortage in Karachi if not fully than surely to some extent.

Shakoor regretted that the burning problems of the megacity like water shortage, lack of proper public transport system, pathetic civic infrastructure and poor education and healthcare facilities were the matters of the least concern for our provincial and federal governments. He suggested that if the provincial and governments were not interested in making new water reservoirs in Karachi, people at community level could go for experiments to make very small scale water storage facilities in their neighbourhoods on self-help basis.

July 25, 2022July 26, 2022

Karachi needs major overhaul in drainage system: Altaf Shakoor

Karachi, July 25, 2022 (PPI-OT):Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor said in a statement on Monday that the megacity of Karachi needs a major overhaul in drainage system. He said billions of rupees were tagged for improvement of drainage system, but due to corruption and political nepotism no actual improvement was witnessed in the drainage system of the megacity which went drowned with every rains even after spending this amount.

He said the major reason of the urban flooding in the megacity is that its rainwater drainage waterways are encroached upon by the land mafia. He said all pre-Pakistan stormwater drain were designed to cater to a small population of Karachi at that time, but later when the population of the city went increased manifold those drains were not widened to increase their capacity but instead narrowed due to enchantment.

He said throwing of garbage into the stormwater drains had further blocked their flow, resultantly, Karachi drowns with every rain. He said designers of DHA and other such housing societies near the coast also craved plots of small creeks and natural water outflow drains. Now the DHA and Clifton also drowns in rainwater. He said accumulation of rainwater in areas near coastal belt was unheard in any other part of the world, but the greed of real estate tycoons and institutions had made this possible in the coastal areas of Karachi.

Shakoor demanded that outflow of drainage water into the Malir and Lyari rivers must be stopped at all costs. These rivers and other rainwater drains must not be used as sewerage water drains. He said these rivers may be used for storage of rainwater by erected dozens of mini check dams over them. He said the concept of rainwater harvesting should be introduced and practically implemented in the megacity.

He regretted that even newly built Green Line RBT service was temporarily stopped during the rains. He said commuting system are kept working in almost all weather conditions in other megacities of the world, but no such planning is ever made for Karachi. He said Karachi is the worst megacity of the world in terms of public transport. He said the government is still dragging heels to start construction on much awaited second phase of Green Line RBT from Numaish Chowrangi to Tower. Shakoor said revival of the KCR is still a distant dream due to snail-paced work on it.

He said neither the drainage system, nor water supply and public transport systems are on the priority list of our provincial and federal governments. Shakoor demanded to overhaul the chocked drainage system of Karachi, and with use of modern GSP and other technologies all natural waterways of the city should be revived to save Karachiites from the menace of urban flooding during every monsoon.

July 24, 2022July 25, 2022

Karachi needs rainwater harvesting system: PDP Chief

Karachi, July 24, 2022 (PPI-OT):Water-deficient megacity, Karachi, urgently needs a rainwater harvesting system to store and re-use rainwater that now simply inundated streets before being drained out into the sea, said Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor here Sunday.

He said in a statement that rainwater harvesting system, also called rainwater collection system or rainwater catchment system, technology that collects and stores rainwater for human use. Rainwater harvesting systems range from simple rain barrels to more elaborate structures with pumps, tanks, and purification systems. The no potable water can be used to irrigate landscaping, flush toilets, wash cars, or launder clothes, and it can even be purified for human consumption. With water scarcity a pressing problem for many densely populated regions, rainwater harvesting systems can supply households and businesses with water for use in dry seasons and lessen the demand on municipal systems.

He said though Karachi does not get heavy rainfalls every year, but still during monsoon season it often gets plenty of showers. He said in this season we see Hab Dam and small dams on the Malir River overflowing. He said supplementary water reservoirs on Hab, Lyari and Malir river systems could help store this excessive water and its use for industrial and agricultural purposes. He said it is pity that both Malir and Lyari rivers, essentially rainwater rivers, are being used as drainage Nullahs. He said the drainage of municipal water should not be carried through natural waterways but instead an extensive municipal drainage system should be devised for them.

He said hundreds of small natural rainwater Nullahs are encroached upon by land mafia. He said in posh society like DHA the natural waterways to drain out rainwater are used to crave plots. He said for land reclamation in DHA the natural outflow of rainwater is blocked which resulted into drowning of some DHA blocks during ongoing monsoon season. He said illegal constructions on Nehr-e-Khayam in Clifton is another example of encroachments in posh areas. He said houses of poor people are demolished in case of encroachments over Gujjar and Orangi Nullahs, but illegal encroachments by the elite in DHA, Clifton and PECHS get the blind eye of the rulers.

He said in Saddar town not only the Urdu Bazaar is built over a Nullah, but some blocks of Sindh Secretariat, parking areas of Supreme Court Registry and Shaheen Complex are said to be built over the said Nullahs, but in this case the question is who will bell the cat? He said if the megacity gets free flowing rainwater drainage Nullahs and waterways and workable water harvesting systems on them, the city could be made greener than Murree and Islamabad, besides catering the need of industrial water.

Altaf Shakoor regretted that the megacity Karachi is being neglected in every sector. He said the public transport system of Karachi is a glaring example of this apathy and neglect. He said Dhaka is building its underground rail system, but the Karachi is content with its disfunctional surface rail commuting system, KCR. He said the second phase of the Green Line RBT is in the limbo for more than a year, while in Islamabad the RBT systems are made functional within weeks on the order of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He asked the Karachiites wonder why PM Shehbaz Sharif is ignoring the Green Line RBT that was a flagship project of his brother former Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif.

Altaf Shakoor demanded from the PM Shehbaz Sharif and chief minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah to focus on neglected drainage and public transport issue of Karachi. He asked PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is a promoter of better environmental systems in the megacity that like his initiatives to develop urban forest along Lyari and Malir rivers, he should also order initiatives for saving rainwater streams and natural waterways from being converted into drainage Nullahs and ensuring rainwater harvesting on them where possible and practicable.