Karachi city council members clash over dispute over land plots — Dawn
In Karachi, Pakistan, a clash broke out during a city council meeting between representatives of the ruling coalition and the opposition over a dispute concerning two land plots of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC). Council members chanted slogans, gathered near the mayor’s dais, and several representatives from both sides came to blows.
As Dawn reports, the conflict arose after a statement by Mayor Murtaza Wahab. He claimed that KMC had allocated plots No. 503 and No. 504 in the Jamshed Quarters area to Al-Khidmat for social purposes, but the land was later used for Idara Noor-i-Haq, the headquarters of Jamaat-i-Islami.
Dispute over the plots
Opposition leader Saifuddin Advocate disputed the mayor’s statement and said he had official documents that could refute it. Opposition representatives accused the mayor of making a false statement, while members of the Pakistan Peoples Party responded with slogans. During the scuffle, the clothes of Pakistan Peoples Party city council member Hayat Khan, known as Pankhi, were torn.
Murtaza Wahab left the chair during the unrest and returned about 10 minutes later, after which the meeting continued in a calmer atmosphere.
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City council decisions
The dispute occurred during consideration of a proposal to revive the nursing college at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital under an agreement with Vision College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences. Saifuddin Advocate opposed it, saying that valuable KMC assets were increasingly being transferred to private organizations for what he considered nominal compensation or rent.
At the meeting, 24 resolutions were considered: ten were supported unanimously, another ten by a majority vote, three were referred to committees for further consideration, and one was rejected unanimously. The council also approved 948.15 million rupees for the construction of a flyover at the Garden intersection on Nishtar Road.
Other decisions included the post-facto approval of 40.5 million rupees in spending for the development, repair and maintenance of 100 homes of the Hindu community in the Malir area, as well as a resolution against the creation of new administrative units and provinces in Sindh.
