Opposition plans no-confidence motion against Karachi mayor

Opposition leader in the Municipal Council, Saifuddin Advocate, on Friday announced plans to move a no-confidence motion against Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, holding him and the Sindh government responsible for what he described as continued misrule and repeated tragedies in the city.

Sindh and the city government have come under widespread criticism following the Gul Plaza inferno, which claimed 79 lives, and calls are growing for Karachi’s mayor to resign from office.

Following the incident, a bitter war of words broke out between the opposition Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in Sindh, as chalks appeared on the walls of several neighborhoods calling for the city to be brought under federal or military control, further increasing political tensions in the metropolis.

Read: 12 more Gul Plaza fire victims identified through geotagging: Sindh Police

Members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) staged a strong protest at the Sindh Assembly, criticizing government oversight, alleging illegal constructions and demanding accountability from the Sindh Building Control Authority for the tragedy.

At a packed press conference today, Saifuddin said Karachi was still in mourning after the Gul Plaza tragedy, but the ruling elite seemed indifferent to public suffering and remained busy with displays and ceremonial activities.

He said the people of Karachi were increasingly being forced to believe that the city had no guardian, as incidents of negligence and lawlessness continued unabated.

Launching a scathing attack on the provincial government, the opposition leader said Karachi residents were being crushed under water tankers, killed by dog ​​bites and shot dead during resistance to robberies while criminals roamed freely.

“Governance does not mean holding meeting after meeting. Governance becomes visible only when institutions function on time,” he said, adding that a government cannot claim authority if firefighters do not respond during emergencies.

Read more: Investigation reveals how Gul Plaza fire became a death trap

Rejecting the inquiry report prepared under the supervision of the Karachi commissioner on the Gul Plaza incident, Saifuddin termed it “false” and questioned the credibility of the committee. “How can those guilty of negligence conduct an impartial investigation?” asked.

He alleged that the report attempted to conceal facts and protect those responsible, and demanded a transparent investigation led by the chief justice of the Sindh High Court or a senior judge of the judiciary.

Read also: Karachi walls demand federal and military control as tensions rise after Gul Plaza fire

Saifuddin held the mayor of Karachi squarely responsible for the tragedy, saying that while funerals were taking place in the city, the mayor was in Islamabad attending events and inaugurating exhibitions.

“When a child falls into a ditch, the mayor inaugurates a swimming pool,” he remarked.

He warned that if the PPP Government failed to remove the mayor, the opposition would present a motion of no confidence against him, adding that preparations for the motion had already begun and contacts had been established with the political parties represented in the City Council, many of which had secured their support.

Speaking about alleged financial corruption and institutional decay, Saifuddin claimed that the PPP had failed to account for Rs 22 trillion in the last 17 years.

He said that under the local government law of 2013, they took control of key institutions of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), weakening the city government. He also criticized the separation of Rescue 1122 from the KMC and the merger of firefighters into it, calling the move a serious administrative error.

Outlining the opposition’s future course of action, he announced that the JI will organize a city-wide grand march on February 1 against bad governance and injustice.

Expressing his disappointment with the federal government and the MQM-P, he said the only solution to Karachi’s problems lay in an autonomous and empowered municipal government.