Author: Ahsan Mughal

By Ashan Mughal KARACHI: The chairman of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement–Pakistan (MQM-P), Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, wrote to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week, calling for the establishment of a high-level, independent commission to investigate the Gul Plaza disaster. The building, which collapsed days earlier in Karachi, has left families mourning and raised questions about safety and oversight in the city’s construction sector. In his letter, Siddiqui urged that the proposed “Gul Plaza Inquiry Commission” operate transparently to uncover facts and identify those responsible for the tragedy. He recommended that the panel include representatives from multiple federal institutions, including the Federal…

By Ahsan Mughal KARACHI: Stakeholders in Karachi have warned that the city’s transport system is on the brink of collapse, calling for a comprehensive mass transit program to serve its more than 35 million residents. The warnings came during a seminar titled “Karachi Transport: Burning Issues and Solutions,” chaired by Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Monem Zafar Khan. The event brought together lawmakers, senior bureaucrats, transport officials, and civil society representatives. Monem Zafar said the provincial government had failed to implement initiatives it should have completed 15 years ago. He described the city as “handed over to mafias” while public problems mount.…

By Ahsan Mughal KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has officially launched a public campaign under the banner of ‘Save Karachi,’ aimed at drawing attention to the city’s pressing administrative, economic, and social challenges. The campaign was announced at a key meeting held on Monday at a park adjacent to the MQM-P headquarters in Bahadurabad, attended by senior party leaders, town union representatives, central department heads, and a large number of right-leaning members of the national and provincial assemblies. Addressing the gathering, MQM-P chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said the responsibility to act fell on everyone, emphasizing that the city…

By Ahsan Mughal KARACHI: The Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H) has called for the creation of a separate Southern Sindh province, arguing that the region’s growing administrative failures and economic hardships make the move essential rather than optional. Speaking at a meeting with a delegation of MQM-H elders from the district central areas at the residence of party leader Sadiq Idris, he said the demand was rooted in a need for justice, not division. “Southern Sindh is not about separation; it is about fairness,” Idris told the gathering. He highlighted that the existing provincial structure had failed to meet the needs…

By Ahsan Mughal KARACHI: Monem Zafar Khan, Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi, accompanied by Deputy Ameer Saifuddin Advocate and town chairmen, met Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah on Monday at the Sindh Secretariat to raise urgent concerns over the city’s persistent water and sewerage problems. Speaking at the meeting, Monem Zafar said that despite repeated assurances from the government, long-standing issues remain unresolved. He highlighted the lack of clean drinking water, poor sanitation, overflowing sewers, uncollected garbage, and piles of waste across various parts of the city. Open manholes, he noted, pose serious risks to public safety. Monem…

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister Afridi warned that despite driving the nation’s economy, his province remains persistently sidelined in federal funding By Shaheen Hashim/Ahsan Mughal KARACHI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister, Sohail Afridi, publicly criticised what he described as a “stepmotherly” treatment of his province, claiming that despite other regions receiving their full National Finance Commission (NFC) allocations between 2018 and 2025, KP had repeatedly been denied its fair share. Speaking at a press briefing at the Karachi Press Club, Afridi painted a picture of a province contributing significantly to the national economy while being consistently overlooked in federal disbursements. Afridi highlighted…

By Ahsan MughalKARACHI: Monem Zafar, Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi, has criticized the Sindh government, led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), for failing to deliver development projects in Karachi. Speaking at the inauguration of a model street and reconstruction projects in Block A, UC 8, North Nazimabad Town, Zafar claimed that towns have not received any development funds in the past two and a half years. “Over the past two and a half years, not a single rupee has been allocated to towns under development funds,” Zafar said. He recalled that former City Nazim Naimatullah Khan had distributed Rs…

By Ahsan Mughal KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi Ameer Monem Zafar Khan has called for urgent action to restore water supply to Gulshan-e-Hadeed, where residents have been without water for seven months. Speaking at a protest camp on the main road, Zafar warned that continued neglect of citizens’ grievances could prompt residents to block the National Highway. He criticised the PPP provincial government and Mayor Murtaza Wahab, blaming them for the city’s water crisis, which he attributed to mismanagement and incompetence. Zafar said that the Bulk Water Supply Department had previously supplied water to Gulshan-e-Hadeed and Steel Town. If responsibility has…

By Ahsan Mughal KARACHI: The spokesperson for Muttahida Qaumi Movement–Pakistan has paid tribute to the Counter Terrorism Department and other law enforcement agencies for foiling what was described as a major terrorist plot in Karachi. In a statement issued from the party’s Bahadurabad headquarters, the spokesperson said the timely action by security agencies had ensured the safety of innocent citizens in the city. MQM-P, the statement said, stood firmly with law enforcement agencies in the fight against terrorism. It added that security institutions, patriotic political parties and the public must act together to defeat the designs of terrorists. The spokesperson…

By Ahsan Mughal KARACHI: Karachi was narrowly spared a major attack after law enforcement agencies arrested several suspected militants and seized a large cache of explosives during a joint operation in the Raees Goth area on the city’s outskirts, officials said. According to investigators, the suspects had been preparing explosive material inside a rented house located around 35 to 40 kilometers from Karachi. Acting on intelligence, law enforcement agencies, along with the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Karachi, carried out a raid on the property, where a significant quantity of explosive material was recovered. During the operation, three to four suspects managed…