KMC City Council expresses concern over killings in city

Members of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) City Council expressed concern over the rising incidence of murders in the city as the council met on Thursday at the City Council Hall.

Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab presided over the session that was also attended by Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad. The City Council offered condolences over the deaths of District Malir Union Committee 9 Chairman Sabir Ali Magsi, who was recently shot dead in a brawl in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf City Council member Parween Murad Baloch.

The council also demanded, through two similar resolutions presented in connection with the incident, swift arrest of the killers of Magsi who belonged to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). The resolutions was tabled by Irshad Ali Advocate of the PPP and Qazi Sadruddin of the Jamat-e-Islami (JI), Besides them, the members who expressed their views on the resolutions included PPP Parliamentary Leader Syed Najmi Alam, JI Parliamentary Leader Saifuddin Advocate and Asad Aman.

The speakers condemned the killing of Magsi and expressed sorrow on behalf of all the members of the council. They strongly demanded that the law enforcement agencies arrest the killers. Both resolutions were passed unanimously.

A proposal was also made on the occasion for forming a committee comprising City Council members over the increasing street crime in Karachi, which would meet the Sindh inspector general of police and discuss the crime situation in the city.

Wahab said a committee would be formed that would meet with the Sindh police chief. He added that every political party would be represented in the committee to discuss with law enforcement agencies the crime situation in Karachi and urge them to take immediate steps in this regard.

The mayor remarked that the proceedings of the council were held in a smooth manner. He expressed the hope that this trend would continue in the future sessions of the council. He then cited a tradition of the City Council under which the council meeting was adjourned after the death of any member. He announced that the session was adjourned till March 8, 2024.

The JI’s Sadruddin concurred with the mayor saying that as per the tradition, the session should be adjourned if any member died. He said that some 20 people had been killed in target killings in the current year and demanded that the mayor constitute a committee in this regard.

The JI’s Saifuddin Advocate said that continuous incidents of murder in the city should be taken seriously. The IG and DIGs, he said, had been stating that the situation was under control.

“The entire assembly should invite the IG here. They should request him to discuss the current situation in Karachi,” he said, adding that permission should be granted to discuss this matter in the next session.

He said that they also wanted to discuss who stole the mandate of Karachi. The system of allocating seats through quotas should be abolished, he added. Meanwhile, the PTI’s council members complained that they are not permitted to open their party offices in the city. They said police had been stopping them from holding activities and they were being pressured to leave the PTI.