KARACHI: In a significant development, the Sindh government of the Pakistan Peoples Party has thrown its full weight behind Mayor Murtaza Wahab in the ongoing dispute with Islamabad over the Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company (PIDCL)’s role in the construction of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Green Line extension project in Karachi.

The PPP-led Sindh government said that the project was outside the purview of the federal organisation and asked the PIDCL to “withdraw” from the development projects “at the earliest”.

The move came on Friday when the Sindh local government department issued a letter to the head of the PIDCL, following directives from Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

The letter was sent after a meeting held at CM House, where the chief minister was briefed on the ongoing development projects in the city and the recent controversy triggered by Mayor Wahab’s decision to halt the Green Line BRT extension project over “procedural violations” by the PIDCL.

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), backed by the PPP-led Sindh government, last week halted the Rs6 billion project of Green Line, citing the PIDCL’s failure to obtain a no objection certificate (NOC) from municipal authorities before restarting the work.

On CM’s instruction, LG dept asks PIDCL to withdraw from uplift projects at the earliest

The KMC officials said the NOC was not issued “in perpetuity” and the PIDCL was required to secure a fresh approval to carry out the work.

Later, talking to Dawn, Mayor Wahab openly expressed his intention to completely exclude the PIDCL from Karachi’s infrastructure development projects.

Following the categorical pronouncement, the Sindh chief minister and the provincial government appeared to be aligned with the mayor’s position, formally asking the federal organisation to confine its role strictly to its “agreed mandate”.

“It is brought to your kind attention that as per the explicit understanding reached with the federal government, the PIDCL, as the successor organisation to the now-defunct Pak-PWD, is mandated only to take over and execute the specific development schemes/projects that were previously under the purview of Pak-PWD and does not include any other development schemes pertaining to the province of Sindh,” said the local government department letter to the PIDCL chief.

However, the letter noted with “concern” that the company was extending its role to other development projects in Sindh, going beyond the agreed-upon scope.

“The Karachi Urban Infrastructure Development Package and the Hyderabad Urban Infrastructure Development Package are provincial initiatives that do not fall under the ambit of PIDCL’s mandate. The execution of these schemes by your organisation is contrary to the understanding reached between the provincial and federal governments and creates impediments to coordinated development efforts,” said the letter.

The mayor last week also emphasised that any project in Karachi, regardless of federal funding, should be carried out through local agencies. He stated that if a project was related to a specific town, it should be managed by the respective town administration. For projects concerning the entire city, the KMC should take responsibility.

The Sindh leadership has now endorsed the mayor’s stance.

“It is requested the PIDCL’s role may be withdrawn from any and all other development projects within the province of Sindh at the earliest and ensure that PIDCL’s involvement is strictly limited to the portfolio of schemes inherited from the defunct Pak-PWD,” added the letter.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2025