ANWAR KHAN

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Monday passed the Sindh Local Government Amendment Bill 2026 by majority vote amid strong opposition protests and sloganeering. Opposition members tore copies of the bill during the uproar in the house.

Before the bill was taken up, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar presented the report of the special committee on the Sindh Local Government Act 2026. As the minister was presenting the report, opposition members began raising slogans and creating a noisy scene in the house. Despite the opposition’s uproar, the house approved the bill by majority vote.

The Sindh Local Government Amendment Act 2026 introduces several important changes to the local government system. In line with the law, the mayor will assume the powers of administrator when the term of a council expires. The outgoing elected representatives will continue to work as administrators until the newly elected mayor or chairman takes charge.

The amendments also says that the deputy mayor or vice chairman will be appointed convener of the council and will be authorized to preside over its meetings. The fresh legislation adds that the union council chairmen will be required to identify illegal constructions and report them to the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA). It also provides for the establishment of a reconciliation commission, which must be constituted within 90 days. Following the passage of the bill, the Sindh Assembly session was adjourned until 3pm on Tuesday.

Parliamentary Secretary for Environment, Hassan Ali Shah told the house that 16 monitoring systems were available to check the Air Quality Index (AQI), including 13 in Karachi. He said sea winds helped reduce air pollution. He was responding to questions from lawmakers during the question hour on the Environment Department. The parliamentary secretary said Karachi generated 470 million gallons of sewage daily, but only 55 MGD was being treated. He said one treatment plant was treating just 20 MGD, while treatment at other plants was negligible.

The remaining sewage was being discharged untreated and was affecting marine life and causing marine pollution, he said. Hassan Ali Shah said plastic bags were still widely available and being used in markets despite the ban. They were increasing pollution and also causing health problems, he said that the Environment Department’s role was limited to issuing directions, while ensuring their implementation was the responsibility of law-enforcement agencies and local governments.

MQM lawmaker Abdul Waseem said Karachi was facing increasing heat due to global warming, yet trees continued to be cut across the city. Hassan Ali Shah said there was a strict ban on tree cutting and that urban forests were also being developed in the city. JI lawmaker Muhammad Farooq questioned why an act had been introduced 112 years ago if sewage was still being discharged into the sea without treatment. He said industrial waste was also mixed with sewage.

The parliamentary secretary said 104 MGD of industrial wastewater was discharged into the sea, while 30 MGD was treated. He said work was under way to address the issue and industrial treatment plants had been installed at Port Qasim. MQM’s Sabir Kaimkhani asked why large industries were not being required to install treatment plants.

Latter, after the session at the Sindh Assembly media corner, opposition parties in the Sindh Assembly including MQM, PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami rejected the Sindh Local Government Amendment Bill 2026, describing it as “political dictatorship” and an “attack” on democracy, and announced plans to challenge it on legal and political forums.

Leader of the Opposition Ali Khursheedi said “political dictatorship” was being exercised in the assembly. He said the government set aside all other business and suddenly passed the legislation during the session. “All political parties, inside and outside parliament, reject this bill,” he said, adding that the PPP stood on one side while the people of the province stood on the other. He also accused the provincial government of contempt of the Supreme Court’s decision.

MQM’s legislator, Iftikhar Alam said their position had not been heard despite a Supreme Court ruling calling for the devolution of powers to the grassroots level. He said MQM had protested against the legislation in the committee and again in the house. PTI’s Shabbir Qureshi said Murtaza Wahab had been imposed on them through horse-trading in 2023. “If the same people return again, the suspicion of rigging will turn into certainty,” he said.

JI’s lawmaker Muhammad Farooq said the new local government law did not give powers to the chairman, although the Constitution vested authority at that level. He alleged that after the 18th Amendment, the provincial government had retained all powers.

He said an amendments proposed by him had been ignored and warned that the legislation could allow political administrators to be appointed when elected representatives were not in office.

Farooq said opposition had jointly opposed the legislation and that the Jamaat-e-Islami would challenge it in court, describing it as “anti-democratic” amendments.