KARACHI: After a two-month stalemate, work on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Green Line extension resumed after the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) joined forces to revive the crucial transport scheme in a rare political consensus for Karachi’s development.

In another show of generosity, a representative of the federal government publicly acknowledged that the project should never have resumed without consulting the city administration, recognising that Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab’s objections were both justified and urgently in need of resolution.

The resumption of the multi-billion-rupee project brought together the three key parties in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition — PPP, MQM-P and PML-N — which agreed that, despite their political differences, they must stand united for the development and betterment of Karachi and its residents.

PML-N, PPP and Muttahida representatives agree to resume work; project to be completed by Oct 31, 2026

Talking to reporters at a ceremony organised on the main M. A. Jinnah Road, near the historical landmark building of Radio Pakistan, representatives from all three parties agreed that minor disputes should be resolved amicably to prevent delays and bottlenecks in development projects funded by either the federal or provincial government.

In response to a question, Mr Wahab stated that raising objections to any project in the interest of the city is intended to ensure improvement, and the real beneficiaries of major urban projects are the citizens.

However, until a project is completed, the public must endure difficulties.

“When the construction of the Green Line began, citizens also faced hardships,” he said. “When its foundation stone was laid, the project’s scope extended only up to Municipal Park, but the concerned contractor failed to complete the work, and the people of Karachi had to bear the consequences. Unfortunately, when the new phase of this project began, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) was not consulted.

“We fully support development works, but our position has been that drainage and sewerage issues must first be resolved. I thank the Prime Minister for providing funds for this project. I request the PM to consider more development projects for Karachi, and if we all work together for this city, no force can stop its progress.”

Senior MQM-P leader and MNA Aminul Haque endorsed the mayor’s points and referred to his meeting with Barrister Wahab a few weeks ago, where both agreed to address KMC’s concerns, and his party then submitted the matter to PM Shehbaz Sharif.

“A few weeks ago, in a meeting with Mayor [Murtaza Wahab], he briefed us about the KMC’s reservations,” he said.

“The mayor raised three points, and I believe all of them were valid and justified. They should have been addressed before launching the Green Line extension.

“The mayor sought three key guarantees: the rebuilding and rehabilitation of roads after the project’s completion, proper construction of stormwater drainage infrastructure, and timely completion of the project without a single day of delay,” he added.

The MQM-P leader called it “better late than never,” as PM Shehbaz Sharif responded to MQM-P’s appeal and issued directives to the Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (PIDCL) to address all concerns and open the project to the public upon completion by October 31, 2026.

The federal government, he said, had already released funds for the Green Line extension project, so there would be no fiscal constraints for PIDCL in completing it.

The KMC, backed by the PPP-led Sindh government, had halted the federally funded multi-billion-rupee project in September, citing PIDCL’s failure to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from municipal authorities before launching the work.

The KMC had also accused PIDCL of damaging city infrastructure during the completion of the first phase and said it would not allow work on the extension phase to proceed without guarantees that every affected facility would be fully restored.

The municipal leadership of Karachi had also challenged the authority of the federal government by questioning the role of PIDCL in urban development projects, insisting that all such initiatives in Karachi should fall under municipal jurisdiction.

Spokesperson for the federal Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for Sindh, Barrister Raja Khaliq uz Zaman Ansari, told the media that the mayor was taken into confidence following resolutions on traffic flow, drainage, pedestrian bridges and other issues under PIDCL.

“The mayor of Karachi was rightly concerned about the citizens, and in view of the measures we have taken, there are no outstanding issues,” he said.

“So there is no point in political point-scoring. The Prime Minister is an open-hearted person, and he has promised that the federal government will provide funds for development in this city and other parts of the province.

“The federal and provincial governments, KMC and PIDCL can all work together to resolve issues in projects and bring prosperity to the lives of ordinary citizens,” he added.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2025