•LG Department Members’ Four-person Investigation Committee
•MQM-P calls to retaliate after PPP fails in CBA election
•Stamp the target or urban labor or ensure transparency of municipal institutions in Sindh
Karachi: As Sindh local government departments constitute a four-member investigation committee that has brewed a new political storm in the city, the committee investigated what is called the Ile uproot in the Karachi Development Agency (KDA), prompting the Muttahida Qaumi Qaumi movement – Pakistan (MQM-P) to strike back sharply and immediately.
The committee consists of directives from the Public Accounts Commission (PAC) that will investigate suspicious recruitment conducted during the Karachi era of the former city government.
According to a notice, the special secretary of housing and town planning has been appointed as the committee director, while LG’s additional secretary, municipal commissioner and KDA director of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) are also part of the team.
The commission’s mission is to submit reports within 15 days.
The move comes days after MQM-P won a decisive victory in the KDA collective bargaining agent (CBA) election, which the party claims has triggered a wave of political revenge in the Sindh government led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
In a strong statement, a statement issued on Sunday, MQM-P’s central committee condemned the formation of what it described as a “biased and politically motivated” investigation committee.
The party claims that in the CBA election, PPP arranged its failure in the CBA election, is using inquiries to undermine the authorization of the KDA workers to MQM-P and target employees with links to the party.
“The timing of the commission raises serious questions. Instead of ensuring transparency of Sindh municipal institutions, the Sindh government selectively targets the urban workforce in Karachi. This is obvious discrimination.”
MQM-P leaders believe that if the Sindh government does want a fair sense of responsibility, it should conduct similar inquiries at all municipal corporations and development agencies in the province rather than sing out the KDA.
The party said the investigation appears to be to legitimize the outcome of the coalition election and to curb the political voices of the people in Karachi’s urban areas.
“This is nothing more than a political victim, and is just an attempt to steal the MQM-P from KDA workers. The authorization of Karachi’s institutions is being weakened and its workforce is devalued under the guise of accountability,” the statement added.
The MQM-P also warned of a strong public and political response, declaring that it would not accept any “anti-labor” decisions or actions that threaten the autonomy and functioning of the major development institutions in Karachi.
Meanwhile, government officials insist that the investigation is part of a brotherly responsibility process following the earlier discovery by the PAC, and the findings have announced several appointments in the KDA illegality.
They insist that the issue is not politically motivated but purely aimed at determining procedural violations and restoring transparency.
Posted in Dawn on September 29, 2025
