"I Will Apologize Where Necessary, The Issue Is Not About Covering Up, But About Theft"Murtaza Wahab
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00:00I would like to object to this statement.
00:02I think it should at least be the case that
00:04technically it is right that you say
00:06that this is a matter of law and order,
00:08law and order is a matter of the police,
00:10the police come to the ministries, I am not the minister.
00:12So technically it is right.
00:14But I am sorry,
00:16it seems a little insensitive
00:18that if the mayor of the city,
00:20I don't know if Atif is sitting in front
00:22and all the other parents
00:24what will they feel when they see
00:26that the mayor of our city is saying
00:28Go and ask him these questions.
00:30It seems insensitive.
00:32I would like to protest you in this.
00:34You tell me, you have all the right to disagree and agree.
00:36What will you say?
00:40Vasim, I believe
00:42that if someone
00:44feels uncomfortable
00:46at my statement
00:48or feels bad
00:50then I have no objection
00:52to not
00:54ask for an apology on this.
00:56If, let's say, my statement has not appeased anyone, then I will apologize for it.
01:05If you look at my statement yesterday, the start of my statement is that
01:10I am a father myself, I also have children.
01:13It is a very painful situation for me.
01:15As a political activist, as a father, as a son,
01:22this thing is definitely not good.
01:25I cannot defend this thing.
01:28But in our country, the unfortunate situation, Wasim, is that
01:32politics starts on everything.
01:35We never try to address the matter.
01:39We start point scoring on it.
01:41You tell me, the thing I am trying to explain, I am going to the root cause.
01:47And that root cause is that such incidents are wrong,
01:51are a cause of shame.
01:53And if you look at my statement yesterday, I have used the exact words
01:58that I do not have words of regret and shame on things.
02:04But then I have explained that thing,
02:07that I do not want this incident to happen to someone else's child tomorrow.
02:12This incident is happening with someone else's family, with a loved one.
02:16And this can only happen if the water board authorities
02:21cover the gutters.
02:23This is their responsibility.
02:25But the other aspect of this, Wasim, is that the gutters should not be stolen.
02:30And if they are being stolen,
02:32then there should be a proper strategy against the thieves,
02:37there should be a crackdown, there should be an investigation.
02:39We will not go into politics.
02:42We will not go into politics.
02:43I have not given you the statement of an MQM person.
02:45The Jamaat will go out and say what you have done.
02:48Now let's come to this, the water board and this.
02:50So who is the head of the water board in Karachi at the moment?
02:54I am the chairman, Wasim.
02:58So when you are saying that the water board should be covered,
03:01then…
03:02I will tell you, if you had not stopped me at that time,
03:05I would have explained to you.
03:07I am responsible for the municipal infrastructure of this city.
03:11And if there is any deficiency in it,
03:14if people blame me for it,
03:16for my negligence,
03:17I will absolutely accept that negligence.
03:20Where there will be a need to apologize,
03:22Wasim, I will also apologize.
03:24But I am requesting that the issue in the city
03:27is not to cover it.
03:30The issue is to steal the gutters.
03:33Yes.
03:34Wasim, let me tell you, when I became the mayor,
03:36the first thing I did,
03:38I realized that this is a very old and prevalent issue in the city.
03:42When I was growing up,
03:44people used to take the gutters from the veranda of our house
03:47because there was sewage in it.
03:50And how old is this issue, Shaila?
03:52I feel so sorry for her.
03:57Her two children,
03:59it was Eid or Eid night,
04:01I think it's been 20-22 years now,
04:04in this kind of incident,
04:06she was deprived of her two children.
04:08Yes, of course.
04:09The headlines of the city are not changing.
04:12So, you are saying that the gutters are being stolen,
04:16and you are expressing that there is a whole line,
04:18and the reason for this is that these gutters are being sold.
04:21So, Mr. Mursal, stop this.
04:23Now, the question you have raised,
04:24that this is not my job,
04:25so I am asking you,
04:26please tell me,
04:27which department's job is this?
04:29I said in my press conference,
04:32that this is a policing issue.
04:34This is my opinion,
04:35and I am not saying this from today,
04:36I have said this many times,
04:37there is no blame game in this.
04:39Neither do I want to score political points in this,
04:42nor do I want to play any blame game.
04:44I would like to present this incident with a child in the future.
04:49When someone's lovely mobile is snatched from a gunpoint,
04:53when a motorbike is snatched,
04:55he is killed,
04:56so that there is no such action.
04:57What is the basic reason for this?
04:59Waseem, the mobile phone of the city,
05:01which is stolen,
05:02is sold in the second-hand market.
05:04We all know this.
05:06The motorbike that is stolen,
05:08after being stolen,
05:09it is sold in a second-hand market.
05:12Similarly,
05:13the covers that you have,
05:14are stolen,
05:15or are picked up,
05:17its body is sold in the garbage market.
05:20This is a crime.
05:21Regulating this crime is the job of the police.
05:24And what is the right of a common man,
05:25Mr. Mursal,
05:26if you ask,
05:27under which department is the police,
05:28under which department is the Ministry of Interior,
05:29which party is the Minister of Interior,
05:30which party is the People's Party,
05:31and for how long,
05:32this issue should not be politicized.
05:34People should be held responsible.
05:36Waseem,
05:37Waseem,
05:38Waseem,
05:39if people are consoled by the fact that
05:41I am responsible for this,
05:42then I raise my hand like this,
05:44and raise my hand and say,
05:45whatever punishment I have to give for this,
05:47give it.
05:48Even if there is no consolation,
05:49the answer to this,
05:50Mr. Mursal,
05:51is that,
05:52the Jamaat leaders,
05:53and the leaders for so long,
05:54under whom the police is responsible,
05:55they are responsible,
05:56or Hamas is responsible,
05:57or Hezbollah is responsible,
05:58who is responsible?
05:59I,
06:00Waseem,
06:01I mean,
06:02there is no other opinion in this,
06:03the government,
06:04who is responsible,
06:05has the responsibility.
06:06But,
06:07I am explaining again and again,
06:08I am requesting,
06:09that the actual root cause,
06:10should not be addressed.
06:12No,
06:13after it is addressed,
06:14I will ask the next question.
06:15Is this such a big issue?
06:16Waseem,
06:17Waseem,
06:18Waseem,
06:19Waseem,
06:20Waseem,
06:21Waseem,
06:22Waseem,
06:23Waseem,
06:24Waseem,
06:25Waseem,
06:26Waseem,
06:27Waseem,
06:28Waseem,
06:30Waseem,
06:31you are that reporter,
06:33I want to salute you,
06:34that you are trying,
06:35to address that root cause.
06:36Of course,
06:37I have done nothing serious,
06:38I have not praised anyone,
06:39in front of any of your political group,
06:41that they are chiding you,
06:42or you are bashing such and such people,
06:43I have done nothing,
06:44I am talking about the problem.
06:45This is why,
06:46this is why,
06:47this is why,
06:48I have been saying that,
06:49I appreciate you,
06:50that you are addressing the root cause,
06:51that the police,
06:52should proactively address
06:53the issue,
06:55to address the issue,
06:56this is a matter of theft,
06:57this theft,
06:58We need to regulate the secondary market for this.
07:01If I go to a secondary market and sell my mobile phone to someone,
07:06then there should be a paper for it.
07:08Unfortunately, the second-hand markets are not being regulated.
07:13And I am absolutely committed to this,
07:15that I will take up this matter with the police and my government,
07:20that the second-hand market should be regulated.
07:22The stolen goods that are sold there,
07:25we should make sure that the stolen goods are not available in the city or in the province,
07:30so that we can end this kind of market.