JI demands government scrap BRT project and restore old University Road

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Monday expressed grief over the incident in which a child fell into an open manhole near Nipa in Karachi, calling it evidence of what he described as the city’s worsening civic collapse.

He demanded an immediate halt to the Red Line BRT project, saying citizens were being “humiliated in the name of BRT.”

Speaking at a press conference in Karachi, Hafiz Naeem said the Sindh government had become “the biggest hub of corruption,” adding that Karachi had deteriorated to an alarming degree.

He claimed that funds meant for the city’s development, “Rs 3,360 billion in 15 years” had been consumed by the provincial government.

He accused the Karachi mayor of controlling all municipal institutions and reiterated his demand to scrap the BRT Red Line and restore the old University Road, calling it a major relief for residents.

Hafiz Naeem also said JI workers had thwarted an attempt to illegally occupy a citizen’s home in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, alleging that the city appeared to have no functioning government and people were unsafe. He announced a JI cell to resist land grabbing and vowed to mobilise citizens against such activities.

JI Karachi chief Munim Zafar also condemned the child’s fall into the drain, saying the city’s infrastructure was in ruins.

He said senior officials failed to respond during the emergency and criticised the prolonged construction of the BRT corridor, where work has continued for nearly five years and, according to him, could take another four.