KARACHI: The opposition in the City Council on Thursday levelled sweeping and serious allegations of “mega corruption, fraud and institutional manipulation” against the city administration, claiming that billions of rupees had been misappropriated through illegal contracts, fake tenders and undocumented projects in the metropolis.

Addressing a press conference at his office in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation headquarters, the leader of the opposition in the City Council, Saifuddin Advocate, alleged that the council’s proceedings themselves were compromised.

“The City Council is being run through complete hooliganism and forgery. Repeated demands for proper voting procedures had been ignored. Fake resolutions are being made part of the agenda, turning the country’s largest municipal house into a mockery,” he said just a day before the scheduled session of the council.

He accused officials of awarding contracts without due process, as “favourite individuals” are being given contracts without tenders.

Saifuddin Advocate claims billions misappropriated through fake tenders, illegal contracts; questions transparency of council proceedings

He cited specific examples, including projects worth Rs30 million on National Stadium Road and Rs100 million at Empress Market.

He claimed that no tender was issued for beautification work on Sharea Faisal. Saifuddin Advocate also alleged widespread bribery within the system.

“The officers are taking bribes for awarding contracts. The contractor associations have repeatedly raised concerns through written complaints, and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has issued notices. But no concrete action has been taken so far,” he added.

Referring to the “financial irregularities,” he claimed that inflated payments were made in several cases. In Karachi zoo, he alleged, a cage costing Rs10 million was shown as Rs100 million and paid accordingly.

On municipal revenue, the opposition leader questioned official figures. Annual income from advertisements is shown as Rs25 million, while surveys indicate Rs9.6 billion is generated just from billboards on main roads, he claimed.

Referring to the K-IV project, he said, the electricity supply has been disconnected, and out of 90 kilometres of augmentation work, only 1.5km was completed before the World Bank halted work over corruption concerns.

Saifuddin Advocate alleged that a Rs13bn project, including the Hub Canal scheme, was incomplete despite being inaugurated by Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

Criticising waste management, he questioned the utilisation of a Rs43bn budget. He said that the garbage is neither collected from homes nor reaches landfill sites.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2026