KARACHI: All opposition parties in the Sindh Assembly have jointly rejected the proposed amendments to the Sindh Local Government (LG) Act, calling the draft law “unconstitutional” and an attempt to weaken elected local bodies.

The parliamentary committee formed to review the amended LG bill met on Saturday at the Sindh Assembly, with members from both the government and opposition in attendance.

Those present included Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, Qasim Siraj Soomro, Jamil Soomro, Saleem Baloch and Sumita Afzal. From the opposition, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) was represented by Taha Ahmed and Iftikhar Alam, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) by Muhammad Farooq and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) by Shabbir Qureshi.

Later, briefing the media, the opposition lawmakers present in the meeting rejected the amendments to the LG law, while the law and parliamentary minister justified the amended bill.

House panel reviews amended local govt bill; Lanjar defends move to make outgoing mayors, chairmen administrators after term end

Rejecting the special committee’s proceedings outright, MQM-P’s Taha Ahmed said the Pakistan Peoples Party inducted the committees it wanted. “It is their will that prevails,” he said.

He accused the provincial government of undermining the LG system by not transferring powers to the people. “Not transferring powers to the people makes the local government system useless. We are representatives of urban Sindh, and we reject this insult to the people’s mandate and this assembly session,” he added.

Citing Article 140-A of the Constitution, he demanded full powers for mayors and urged the PPP to implement its 2008 manifesto commitment to devolve authority. “Why are powers of the master plan, solid waste and the water board being taken away from the mayor?” he asked.

He warned of nationwide protests if the “controversial legislation” was not withdrawn.

He also alleged that the provincial government was trying to impose mayors on Ghotki, Larkana, Sukkur and Karachi, and that the media had been barred from the meeting, violating the spirit of the 18th Amendment.

MQM-P’s Iftikhar Alam said that his party completely rejected the proposed act.

He expressed concerns over appointing an administrator before elections, saying it would not ensure free and fair polls. “The tenure of the administrator has also not been fixed in case of delay in elections, which will create flaws in the system,” he said.

The MQM-P lawmaker said that the special committee meeting was “a joke” and that no discussion was not been fixed in case of delay in elections, which will create flaws in the system,” he said.

The MQM-P lawmaker said that the special committee meeting was “a joke” and that no discussion was held on transferring powers to LGs in line with the Supreme Court’s (SC) orders.

PTI’s Shabbir Qureshi said that his party had rejected the government’s proposals. “It is not appropriate to seat unelected representatives in UCs. We strongly opposed this proposal,” he said.

JI’s Muhammad Farooq said that the existing act had already rendered local bodies powerless, including the mayor of Karachi. “We proposed holding elections within 120 days and not appointing an administrator, but it was not accepted,” he said.

Rejecting the decision to retain oversight instead of devolving powers to the UC level, he said that none of the proposals submitted three months ago had been accepted.

Mr Lanjar, the law and parliamentary affairs minister said that the provincial government had proposed a mechanism to be followed on completion of the tenure of LG representatives. “We have suggested that a letter be written to the Election Commission (EC) 120 days before the elections,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2026