A fierce war of words broke out between Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari and Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab on Sunday as both leaders traded sharp barbs over Eid cleanliness efforts and governance performance in their respective provinces.
In a fiery statement issued in response to Wahab’s criticism of Punjab’s leadership, Azma Bukhari accused the Karachi mayor of making “baseless allegations” to hide his own failures.
“Even on Eid, you couldn’t stop your unnecessary criticism to cover up your poor performance. Don't get upset with us over your poor performance,” Bukhari said. “While the people of Punjab are praying for Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, citizens in Sindh are cursing your government for the unbearable foul air in Karachi.”
The minister defended the absence of CM Maryam Nawaz from field inspections, stating that over 140,000 workers, administrators, and ministers were deployed on the ground, adding that the goal at this time was to remove offal and maintain the beauty of the province.
“It is not essential for the chief minister to go out personally when the entire administration is actively working. Our priority is delivering results, not optics,” she remarked.
Bukhari lambasted Sindh’s 16-year rule under the PPP, saying, “You haven't been able to clean just Karachi in all these years. The chief minister and his team have been missing from public view for the last two days.”
She further criticized Wahab’s allegations of “media distractions,” asserting that the media was not being managed but instead was “showing the public the bitter reality.” The Sindh government has nothing to say or show, she added.
Earlier. Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab had held a press conference on Burns Road, where he claimed that 37,547 tonnes of garbage had been removed from the city as part of the Eid clean-up drive.
“We expect to remove about 40,000 tonnes of garbage from the West zone alone,” Wahab said, adding that garbage is being disposed of by digging trenches. He also urged critics to step out of “cold rooms” and witness the ground realities.
He took a jab at Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz, stating, “She hasn’t visited a single area, yet it is being shown that everything is going well in Punjab. Critics will keep criticising. The aim of the critics was to collect animal hides, which they are doing, now they should come out of their air-conditioned rooms. ”
Taking aim at his political opponents, Wahab said, “I’m not from MQM; I don’t know how to fool people. Some people are making false claims while sitting in air-conditioned rooms. MQM should stop misleading the public and do some real work.”
The mayor also slammed past city administrations, particularly MQM’s tenure, describing it as a "permanent national disaster." He said Karachi had yet to recover from the mismanagement during Wasim Akhtar’s era.
Maryam Nawaz tweet
Later in the day, the Punjab CM lauded the efforts of district administrations and sanitation workers across the province for their tireless work during the Eid-ul-Adha holidays, calling the clean-up operation "historic".
In a message posted on social networking platform X (formerly Twitter), the chief minister praised the dedication and performance of the workers, particularly those associated with Suthra Punjab.
"On Eid-ul-Adha, district administrations across Punjab, especially the workers of Suthra Punjab, got active and performed their duties with honesty," Maryam Nawaz wrote.
She highlighted that the workers efficiently removed garbage, cleaned streets and neighbourhoods, and even washed roads using phenyl and rose water to ensure a pleasant and hygienic environment for citizens during the religious festival.
"Congratulations to the district administration and the workers of Suthra Punjab on the historic cleaning operation," the chief minister added in her post.
