NA echoes with calls for empowering local govts following deadly fire at Karachi’s Gul Plaza

The National Assembly on Tuesday echoed with calls for empowering local governments (LGs) as lawmakers stressed the need for reforms in the wake of the Gul Plaza fire.

Besides members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), PML-N’s Khawaja Asif also favoured strengthening LGs for better city administration.

Speaking on the floor of the NA today, MQM-P leader Dr Farooq Sattar called for the “creation of more administrative units” for better governance and strengthening local government systems.

“Such a huge burden can not be shouldered by a chief minister alone,” he said. “These powers should instead be handed over to the mayor, town chairman, UC (union council) chairman”.

He recalled that MQM-P had also advocated for the inclusion of a clause aimed at strengthening local government bodies in a probable 28th Constitutional Amendment.

“Creating an administrative unit is not the division of geography; it is an administrative division, a division of justice and resources,” Sattar maintained.

He assailed the Sindh government for its “inaction, apathy, and corruption spanning over two decades”, which he said led to the Gul Plaza inferno.

The fire, which erupted at the Karachi shopping centre on Saturday night, has left at least 23 dead, with over 60 reported missing. A search operation was underway on Tuesday, with rescue teams scouring through the rubble after parts of the building collapsed as the fire had raged on for over 24 hours.

Urging people not to politicise the issue of LGs, the MNA asserted that it was “the right of the people of Karachi to question the Sindh government as well as the Centre over where exactly Karachi lies on their list of priorities”.

Sattar claimed that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah arrived at the site of the incident “22 hours” after the fire broke out. Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab also arrived late, he said.

“This shows how apathetic they are,” he added.

“For the past 18 years, the [provincial] government has been led by one party, which does not hold Karachi’s mandate but that of the rest of Sindh, so how are they allowed to dictate the fate of Karachi?” Sattar said.

“What kind of democracy is this?”

Criticising authorities in Sindh, Sattar said: “Someone will have to take responsibility and ask for forgiveness from the people for their inaction. Three years of their mayorship […] they are building futsal and padel grounds.”

He held that Karachi remained “undercounted, underrepresented, and underfunded”. The MQM leader further said that the city’s firefighting capability and resources were not in accordance with its size.

He called on the Sindh government to “take ownership of Karachi” and further requested that the “there should be a consensus that this (Gul Plaza fire) is a national tragedy”.

The MQM leader said, “This fire was not only in Gul Plaza but in the hearts of the people of Karachi as well”.

Sattar also paid tribute to the firefighter Furqan Ali, who lost his life while battling the deadly blaze.

Give representation in neighbourhoods: Asif

Across party lines, lawmakers stressed that coordinated action by federal and provincial governments was essential to ensure that such tragedies were not repeated, and that public safety must be strengthened through enforceable laws and effective urban governance rather than temporary expressions of grief.

Defence Minister Asif, speaking during the session, echoed Sattar’s proposal, stating that it is “not humanly possible to manage Karachi in its present structure”.

“If we want to empower the people in a true sense, we will have to bring in the local government system,” Asif said.

He stressed that due to the 18th Amendment, all powers regarding administration had been assigned to the provincial government.

“If there is any local government, they do not have any powers,” he added.

The minister recalled that in the 27th Amendment, “we proposed that there should be a system for local government … but the clause was withdrawn”.

“If we truly want to represent the people of Pakistan, then provide them representation in their own neighbourhoods,” the minister said.

He held that, “if local government systems are not strengthened, then the defence ministry, the navy and the aviation will be doing your work for you”.

He claimed that “local government elections were not even allowed to be held”.

He maintained that this was done so that the “power could not be transferred to the grassroots level”.

He went on to say, “This incident and the subsequent collapse of the fire brigade system are a clear signal that the country needs a system — across tehsils, neighbourhoods, and provinces — where people feel empowered and can hold their representatives accountable.”

‘Sindh only province with functional LGs’

On the other hand, PPP leader Shehla Raza clarified: “There is an impression being made that there is no local government system in Sindh.

“[But] Sindh is the only province where local government systems are working.”

She also objected to the claims made by MQM-P’s Sattar, stating that “it is not necessary for ministers to show up when such an incident happens”.

Rather, she maintained, it was more important to handle the situation.

“At 10:26pm, the incident was reported, and one fire vehicle each from Central Fire Station and the Saddar Fire Station was dispatched,” she said.

Raza continued: “Around 10:45pm, the first responders informed the chief fire officer of the scale of the fire and that more fire tenders should be sent”.

“Sixteen fire tenders, four snorkels, and two water bowsers were sent,” the PPP lawmaker said.

She admitted that there was a delay due to traffic in the area.

“I am not defending anything, but such fires have been reported before in states like California as well,” she said.