Karachi: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrived in Karachi on Wednesday along with Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan for a day-long visit.
A meeting is expected to occur at Chief Minister House. The electricity crisis, deaths caused by the heatwave, steps the government can take, and the overall situation in Karachi will be discussed.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah was present at the Karachi airport to receive the premier and interior minister.
Since the onslaught of the deadly heatwave, which has claimed over 1,200 lives in Karachi, there have been calls from all over the country for Nawaz Sharif to visit the metropolis as the federal government has been blamed for load shedding that has been held responsible for contributing to deaths in the city.
Before leaving for Karachi on Wednesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met Army Chief General Raheel Sharif at the PM office on Tuesday.
An official of the prime minister’s office had told Dawn that a meeting between the prime minister and the army chief always carried importance. Still, following the BBC report, which accused the MQM of working hand in glove with RAW to create unrest in Karachi, it surely had gained added significance.
A PML-N insider had said the meeting was also being viewed against the backdrop of recent outbursts by PPP Co-chairman Asif Zardari against the military establishment and increasing tension between the MQM and PPP on one side and Sindh Rangers on the other in running the affairs of Karachi.
The prime minister had reiterated his resolve at the groundbreaking ceremony for the widening of Islamabad Expressway that he was determined to bring peace to the city.
“I am going to Karachi on Wednesday where the federal government wished to carry out similar development as we are undertaking elsewhere” in the country, he had said.
“Since the prime minister wants to carry on his working relationship with the PPP,” he must have taken up the strained ties between the Sindh government and the Rangers with the army chief to resolve their differences, the PML leader had said.
