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The Sindh Assembly on Wednesday introduced the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2026 proposing several significant changes to the local government system, including allowing mayors and chairmen to continue functioning as administrators after the expiry of their terms if fresh local government elections are not held.
The bill was referred to a 12-member parliamentary committee for further deliberation, with the panel directed to submit its report within a week. The House also passed amendments to other provincial laws during the sitting.
The session, chaired initially by Deputy Speaker Naveed Anthony, witnessed several points of public importance being raised through call-attention notices. At the outset, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) lawmaker Najm Mirza pointed out a lack of quorum as the number of lawmakers present in the House was considerably low. The sitting was subsequently adjourned for a short while before proceedings resumed.
During the proceedings, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar sought permission for Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government Qasim Siraj Soomro to introduce the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2026, which was granted.
A 12-member parliamentary committee was subsequently constituted to examine amendments to the Sindh Local Government Act 2013 and submit its report within one week. The committee comprises members of both treasury and opposition parliamentary parties, besides the law minister.
Under the proposed amendments, the mayors and chairmen would continue to serve as administrators even after completion of their terms if new local government elections were not held.
The deputy mayor and vice-chairman would serve as conveners of their respective councils and would preside over council meetings. According to the draft legislation, the process for local government elections would begin 120 days before completion of the council’s term. If elections were not held, the mayor and chairman would continue functioning as administrators.
The proposed amendments also stipulate that a no-confidence motion against a chairman or vice-chairman could only be passed with a two-thirds majority. The bill seeks to introduce an accountability mechanism for directly elected representatives. It also proposes that the metropolitan commissioner should serve as the chief executive of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation.
Another significant proposal was the establishment of reconciliation forums at union, municipal and town levels to facilitate the amicable resolution of community disputes. Under the proposal, the local station house officer (SHO) would coordinate with the relevant union council chairman, while both the SHO and chairman would have roles in the reconciliation forum.
The House also passed the Sindh Excise (Amendment) Bill 2026 and a bill seeking amendments to Provincial Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1965, both moved by Lanjar.
Excise Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla said the amendment to the motor vehicle law concerned car dealers. Previously, a vehicle attracted a penalty if it was not registered within one month. Under the proposed change, however, no penalty would be imposed for up to six months on a vehicle kept at a showroom. A penalty could be imposed once the vehicle was brought onto the road.
Several lawmakers raised public grievances through call-attention notices. Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Muhammad Farooq drew attention to open storm-water drains in Shah Faisal Colony and Green Town, warning that they could cause accidents at any time. He said the drains were filled with garbage and had not been cleaned this year.
Soomro said the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) was responsible for maintaining the drains. He said the KMC had repaired some sections and would undertake repairs to the remaining portions as well. MQM-P lawmaker Amir Siddiqui complained about garbage accumulation outside the Jamia Binoria.
“After the 18th Amendment, we are told that there have been many benefits, but the benefit is that assembly members now have to plead for the removal of garbage in the city,” he said, adding that even letters written to the managing director of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board produced no response.
Soomro responded by saying that when local government elections were being held, the government had urged the MQM-P to participate, but its members had stayed away from the polls.
He said the Sindh government regularly released funds to all elected local government representatives every month. MQM-P lawmaker Muhammad Waseem highlighted water shortages in his constituency, saying residents were also facing prolonged power outages and that the entire city was experiencing a water shortage.
Soomro assured him that officials of the relevant department would brief him on the matter. He said Karachi’s water crisis could not be permanently resolved until the K-IV bulk water supply project was completed.
Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker Sadia Javed raised a call-attention notice over remarks allegedly made by Opposition Leader Ali Khursheedi about the clothing of women lawmakers, both inside the House and during a recent media interaction.
She said the remarks were inappropriate and called on him to withdraw them and apologise on the floor of the House. Sindh Minister for Women Development Shaheena Sher Ali also supported her objection.
Khursheedi, in response, clarified that he regarded women lawmakers sitting on both opposition and treasury benches as his sisters. “If anything I said hurt them, a brother has no hesitation in apologising to his sisters,” he said. He maintained that his earlier remarks were not intended to criticise women lawmakers but referred to members who recorded videos inside the House.
