Daily Times

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parliamentarian Khurram Sher Zaman on Sunday cast doubt on the transparency of the ongoing anti-encroachment operation in the metropolis.

He said the operation was not being carried out in a transparent manner. “Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar has been razing shops and houses of the poor only,” he alleged. “When will the walls of Bilawal House, which have been constructed on the footpath, be demolished?” he questioned. He alleged that a politician owned a building built on the Nahr-e-Khayyam.

He further asked whether Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Mian Saqib Nisar’s directives regarding demolition of encroachments applied to the poor only. “The walls of the poor people’s houses are being demolished while the rich people’s palaces stand intact,” he lamented.

The PTI lawmaker asked the mayor if he was afraid of taking action against the rich and influential people. “I am willing to take Mr Akhtar on a tractor to demolish those illegal structures,” he offered. He said he would respond to a Rs50 million (m) defamation suit soon. “The PTI stands against any injustice meted out in the port city,” he said. The politician asserted that PTI had nothing to do with the anti-encroachment drive.

Published in Daily Times, December 17^th2018.