• PPP accused of creating hurdles in Karachi uplift
• Farooq Sattar says there is no need of permission for initiating federally funded projects

KARACHI: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) — the two coalition partners in the federal government — strongly criticised the Karachi mayor and the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Wednesday for what they described as the “incomprehensible logic of obstructing” the much-needed extension of the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit project in Karachi.

In separate press conferences, both parties accused the PPP-led Sindh government of creating bureaucratic hurdles in development of Karachi where residents were already suffering due to the city’s inadequate public transport system.

Federal government spokesperson for Sindh affairs Barrister Raja Khaliq Uz Zaman Ansari vowed to complete the next phase of Green Line BRT by June 2026.

He questioned the “illogical argument” of Karachi mayor which he put forward for stopping the construction work.

“I fail to understand the logic behind stopping a federally-approved development project. This kind of logic simply doesn’t make sense to me,” he said and in a pointed remark expressed concerns over administrative “interference”.

“It appears that officers from the PIDCL are being prevented from meeting the mayor. If true, this is deeply troubling and undermines cooperative governance.”

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), backed by the PPP-led Sindh government, last week halted the Rs6 billion project of Green Line, citing the PIDCL’s failure to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from municipal authorities before restarting the work.

KMC officials said the NOC was not issued “in perpetuity” and the PIDCL was required to secure a fresh approval to carry out the work.

Now, it seems that instead of improving, the situation is becoming more complicated because the federal government has clearly stated that the mayor’s claim “doesn’t make sense”.

Barrister Ansari added that the federal government was committed to providing better transportation facilities to Karachi’s citizens and intended to work in full cooperation with the Sindh government.

“We are not here for political point-scoring. We want to work together for the people,” he said. He said around 42,000 commuters use the Green Line buses daily.

The main 21-kilometer corridor has already been completed, and Phase 2 is essential to link other BRT lines — including Red, Yellow, and Blue — into a unified network.

“The federal government is planning to launch 22 mega projects in Karachi worth Rs334 billion and we hope to collaborate with the Sindh government and Mayor Karachi without obstruction,” he said signalling no backing out as demanded by Mayor Murtaza Wahab, who called for completely excluding the PIDCL from the city’s infrastructure development works.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to visit Karachi in December to inaugurate several projects, including a major laptop distribution drive at Mazar-i-Quaid,” added Mr Ansari.

Muttahida slams PPP

Later addressing a press conference at the party’s temporary headquarters in Bahadurabad, MQM-P leaders Dr Farooq Sattar and Javed Hanif criticised the Sindh government and Karachi mayor for deliberately obstructing key uplift projects, especially the federally-funded Green Line bus service.

Senior MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar accused the PPP government of following the policy of “neither working themselves nor letting anyone else work”.

He expressed frustration over the latest disruption in the Green Line project from Numaish to Jama Cloth Market.

“Even if the NOC wasn’t there, they could have coordinated with the federal government instead of halting work,” he said adding that the issues of contractor had already been resolved due to MQM-P’s intervention, and work on the 1.8km track was set to begin.

“Now, when the work on final stretch is about to start, they’ve created new roadblocks,” said Dr Sattar, claiming that the NOC was already issued back in 2017.

He claimed that the credit for the project’s revival and nearing completion went solely to the MQM-P.

He also lashed out at the PPP’s “failure” to complete other major infrastructure schemes in Karachi, such as the K-IV water project, flyovers in Korangi, and underpasses in Gulistan-i-Johar.

He claimed that the PPP government was “incapable of completing any project”.

MQM leader Javed Hanif vowed that the MQM-P would continue monitoring federal projects and announced plans to even collaborate with rival Jamaat-i-Islami where possible, giving them due credit when deserved.

“The federal government is under no obligation to seek NOCs from the Sindh government for federally funded projects,” he claimed.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2025