The first session of the Karachi City Council was adjourned on Monday for an indefinite period after members of PPP, PTI and JI chanted slogans against each other.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab chaired the meeting of the newly elected city vouncil in the council hall of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation building.

Opposition parties chanted slogans of “mandate thief” while the ruling party also chanted against JI Karachi’s Hafiz Naeemur Rehman.

Wahab requested the opposition parties to not disturb the proceedings of the meeting, saying that mere slogans would not resolve the issues of the city. Karachi’s mayor and deputy mayor would resolve all the issues of Karachi including encroachment, water and sewerage, he said.

Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party’s Patron-in-Chief Jahangir Tareen’s plane was also discussed during the meeting as PPP’s Najmi Alam said that Tareen’s plane would have brought the PTI members to the meeting.

After the meeting, JI’s Rehman alleged that the PPP has occupied the Sindh government for the last 15 years. The JI would take Karachi back from “thieves and dacoits”, he added.

He went on to add that the Jahangir Road has been “built for the sixth time” during the PPP government. Rehman accused the provincial government of corruption in the construction of the Jahangir Road and Shahrah-e-Faisal.

Wahab describes Rehman as ‘pharaoh’

Karachi Mayor Wahab has blamed JI’s Rehman for being “egoistic”. In a press conference after the council meeting, the PPP leader refused to follow the politics of blame game. But he wondered from where did the religious-political party have the funds to conduct such a campaign before local bodies elections.

“I will try to not respond to criticism,” he said and clarified that the Sindh-ruling party leader did not bring any poster unlike their rival whose signs say “qabza mayor namanzoor”.

Wahab spoke about the need to develop the mega city and how all the elected representatives worked together during Eidul Azha as he had invited all political parties to work together.

“I did not want to address a press conference,” he said and added that the action plan was to be told in the council meeting. “Hafiz Naeem Rehman was sitting as pharaoh in a council meeting,” Wahab said and lamented that slogans were chanted during the recitation in the meeting.

Wahab went on to add that he could have not given Mike to Rehman, but he tried to keep a “good precedent”.

The PPP leader alleged that the “sign board mafia” began during former city mayor Naimatullah Khan, who belonged to the JI. Using metaphoric language, Wahab offered to give sherwani – a dress mostly worn by leaders when they are sworn in – to Rehman.