KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) provincial lawmaker on Saturday rejected proposed amendments to the Sindh local government (LG) law that would allow mayors and deputy mayors to remain in office after their terms expire, and said the party would challenge the move in court.
The JI’s legislator in the Sindh Assembly, Muhammad Farooq demanded that local government elections be held within 120 days and that all powers and resources should be transferred to elected local representatives.
Speaking to media after attending a meeting of the Sindh Assembly’s special committee on the Local Government Act, Farooq said his party had submitted its own amendment to the committee, calling for elections within 120 days and transfer of powers to elected representatives.
He said retaining mayors and chairmen after expiry of their terms was an attempt to maintain control over local government institutions. The JI, he added, would approach the courts against any law allowing elected local government heads to continue in office after their terms.
Farooq said the JI wanted all major civic institutions in Karachi, including the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC), Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) and Karachi Master Plan Authority, to be placed under elected local representatives.
He said the Sindh government should immediately devolve powers to the grassroots level and provide local government institutions with the financial, administrative and political authority needed to run the city.
The provincial legislator criticised the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), alleging that despite the 18th Amendment, it was unwilling to transfer powers to the local level and wanted to retain them with the provincial government. He said the existing Sindh Local Government Act had created a weak local government system by denying elected representatives adequate powers and resources.
He said the JI rejected such a system and demanded an empowered local government structure. Karachi’s problems, he added, could not be resolved without giving elected representatives control over civic institutions and the resources required to deliver services.
Farooq said the KWSC, SSWMB and other relevant institutions should be administered by elected local representatives. Without adequate powers and resources, he said, local bodies could not effectively address Karachi’s water, sanitation, sewerage, roads and other basic civic problems.
He urged the Sindh government to ensure local government elections within 120 days and transfer powers to the elected representatives. The JI, he said, would continue its struggle for an effective and empowered local government system through constitutional, legal and democratic forums.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026