Ali Zaidi laments 'war of words' over Karachi cleanliness drive

KARACHI: Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi on Tuesday lamented the blame game and "war of words" between political opponents in Karachi over a campaign to clean the metropolis.

Zaidi had initiated the federal government-backed "Let's Clean Karachi" campaign earlier this month, vowing to clean the city and remove garbage from the metropolis' six districts within two weeks.

But, since then, leaders from different political parties have engaged in what Zaidi described today as a "war of words".

Political opponents have been trading barbs over the administration's general failure in dealing with the disastrous aftermath of the recent spell of monsoon rains and sad state of affairs of water, sewerage and solid waste management in the city.

Zaidi urged elected members of his party to refrain from engaging in the blame game and political point scoring.

"The main objective of the drive was to get everybody on 1 page & clean this great city of ours, at least once! Sadly, it has become a war of words. I humbly request all elected representatives of @PTI_KHI to ignore the useless chatter & keep their eye on the ball," Zaidi said in a tweet on Tuesday.

On Monday, Muttahida Qaumi Movement–Pakistan (MQM-P) leader and Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar had issued a notification appointing his political opponent, Paksarzameen Party (PSP) chairman Mustafa Kamal as 'Project Director Garbage' in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC). 

But, less than 24 hours later, Akhtar said he had suspended Mustafa Kamal because he was "busy with political point scoring" instead of working to help clean Karachi.

Zaidi lamented the blame game in his tweets today.

"People of Karachi now understand that we cannot solve the problems of this great city with the same thinking that was used to create them!

"Our main objective was, is and will remain the same. ie to clean the environment of KHI, the financial hub of Pakistan that is home to 25% plus of our urban population," he said.

Addressing the citizens of Karachi, the federal minister urged them not to be "disheartened by the political negativity".

"I want to humbly request u to not be disheartened by the political negativity that is covering ur TV screens. Please stay focused. There is light at the end of the tunnel but we must never lose faith," he said.

"Together we will clean our city."