KARACHI: Chief Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi, Monem Zafar on Saturday laid the foundation stone for the construction of 1,000 streets in New Karachi Town. He was accompanied by New Karachi Town Chairman Muhammad Yousuf and Vice Chairman Shoaib bin Zaheer at a ceremony held at the Town Municipal Corporation. Speaking to the media, Monem Zafar challenged the mayor to identify even one of his 13 towns where development work matches with that of New Karachi Town. He strongly criticized the provincial government, saying its claims of development in health and education were misleading. “In reality, PPP’s vision is ignorance for all,” he remarked. He said Karachi’s infrastructure was in a deplorable state, citing Jahangir Road as an example, which has been reconstructed for the third time. Despite spending Rs 500 million, he said, its poor condition remains evident. He added that Jamaat-e-Islami is fulfilling its responsibilities with honesty and integrity despite extremely unfavourable circumstances. He said their policy was to spend all available resources directly on public welfare. He noted that despite limited funds, JI’s nine towns are actively serving residents. Highlighting ongoing development work, he mentioned the construction of 513 streets in Landhi Town, development of major roads and a model market in Nazimabad, and the establishment of a Primary Healthcare Centre in Gulberg Town. He accused the PPP and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) of ‘occupying’ major departments of Karachi, alleging that corruption has led to the destruction of these bodies and deprived citizens of basic facilities. Monem Zafar praised the New Karachi Town administration for providing doorstep water supply to more than 20,000 households, despite water supply being the responsibility of the Water and Sewerage Corporation. He expressed concern that sewerage issues remain unresolved despite the allocation of Rs 1.6 billion. Emphasizing Karachi’s contribution to the national economy, the JI leader said it was unacceptable for the city to run Pakistan’s economy without receiving its rightful share. He added that past financial announcements for Karachi never translated into tangible benefits. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026