World News | Heavy Rains Lash Pakistan's Karachi City

Karachi, Feb 4 (PTI) Heavy rains lashed Karachi city for the second consecutive day on Sunday, as political parties intensified their campaigning for Thursday's general elections, blaming the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party for the poor condition of civic facilities in the country's business hub.

The heavy downpour that began on Saturday flooded the main roads and important arteries of the largest city and led to the sewage system's collapse again.

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At least two casualties and a few injuries were reported in the city due to rain-related incidents, according to authorities.

Citizens expressed outrage at the fragile and faulty civic amenities system in the city of millions. Many shared videos on social media of vehicles submerged in the flooding on main roads and people trying to find safe pathways to avoid the floods and broken electrical wires.

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Political parties keen on ending the iron hold of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) wasted no time playing up the havoc caused by the rains.

Led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the PPP has been in power in Sindh province for the last 16-17 years.

A top leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, said that if people still vote for the PPP or even the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and ex-prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party in the upcoming elections, they should expect more problems in the coming years.

“PPP makes tall claims and this is the end result of their big talk. This is the civic state of the country's business hub. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf have also been big stakeholders in the government in Sindh and have also contributed to this state of affairs,” Naeem claimed.

By Saturday evening, announcements were being made on TV channels and roads, urging people to avoid going out unnecessarily and to stay indoors as rescue teams faced difficulties in emergency responses due to severe traffic jams on roads.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab urged people to avoid unnecessary movement, saying teams were deployed to clear major roads.

“Issues are being addressed. Will keep people posted,” he said.

People faced additional difficulties, including a power breakdown, which is a regular occurrence in Karachi. The power outage affected half of the city.

In its forecast on Sunday, Pakistan's Met Office said the current spell of rains was due to a westerly wave prevailing over Balochistan and Sindh, the Dawn newspaper reported.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)