KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said on Monday that the mayor of Karachi would only have such powers which were enshrined for the post in the Local Bodies Government Act, 2013.

Addressing a reception he hosted for the newly elected office-bearers of the Karachi Press Club at the CM House, Mr Shah reacted to statements of the leaders of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) about the powers of Karachi’s mayor, saying that the powers of the mayor were prescribed in the law under which the MQM had contested the local government elections.

He said the MQM had not got its mayor elected yet and its leaders were talking about powers of the mayor. He said the MQM was not only demanding powers of the commissioner, but also wanted that police, revenue and agriculture departments be placed under the mayor.

The chief minister said that the Karachi mayor would enjoy the same powers as the mayors of Sukkur and Hyderabad.

Answering a question, he said the government wanted to take all friends along.

Regarding his meeting with the corps commander Karachi, he said they had exchanged views on the powers of Rangers.

He recalled that when this matter was taken up during his meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad he was told that the interior minister would be visiting Karachi in a week but so far the minister had not come. On the contrary, the chief minister said, he himself had tried to contact the prime minister, but he had not received any response.

“We have decided to sit together to sort out the issue of Rangers’ powers and if there will be a need to amend the resolution adopted by the Sindh Assembly we will go for it,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2016