KARACHI: City Mayor Waseem Akhtar on Tuesday said his life was in danger as had been communicated by the authorities, yet, he was not provided with ample security by the provincial government.

“According to the Sindh home ministry my life is under threat, yet, security arrangements made to protect me are not satisfactory,” said Mr Akhtar while addressing a ‘meet the press’ programme organised by the Karachi Press Club on its premises.

He said it was the duty of the Sindh government to make proper security arrangements to protect the lives and property of its people, said the mayor.

Mr Akhtar added that the city needed ‘targeted development’ for which he had written letters to the prime minister and the chief minister of Sindh. He said he had suggested to the two governments to solve problems of Karachi on urgent grounds.

“Karachi has been neglected in the past. The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation [KMC] no longer has revenue-generating departments that could enable it to develop the city,” he said.

“All powers rest with the provincial government instead of the city’s premier municipality. We have an experienced team that could make the city regain its lost glory.”

He said Karachi had always been subjected to injustice since the country came into being.

He said it had to be seen how much uplift works had been carried out in the province in the last eight years, since the PPP was governing Sindh.

To ensure correct utilisation of funds allocated for development works, he said, he was personally monitoring such works.

He said Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had also directed for similar transparency.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2017