Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab Targets MQM as Korangi Flyover Opens
KARACHI, PAKISTAN — WEB DESK: Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab took aim at the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Saturday while highlighting the Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindh government’s development programme in Korangi, as a new flyover was inaugurated in the district.
Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, accompanied by Wahab, inaugurated the Korangi No. 5 Flyover. Korangi Town Chairman Naeem Sheikh, PPP district officials and party workers also attended the ceremony.
Speaking at the event, Wahab said Korangi had previously been an area where the MQM held considerable political influence, but argued that the focus should now be on development and public service.
The mayor used colloquial and politically charged Urdu expressions — including references to people being made “mamoo” or “murgha” — to contrast what he described as past political practices with the PPP’s development agenda.
For an international English-language report, those expressions are better presented as political rhetoric rather than translated literally into the headline, where their cultural meaning could be misleading.
Wahab Highlights Korangi Infrastructure Projects
Wahab said the PPP was implementing the vision of party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and President Asif Ali Zardari, arguing that political leadership had consistently asked officials what tangible work was being delivered for residents.
He claimed the PPP had built thousands of roads in Korangi district and pointed to several infrastructure projects as evidence of the provincial government’s development programme.
Among the projects cited by the mayor were the Korangi Causeway, Taj Haider Flyover, Korangi-Landhi Flyover, Korangi No. 2½ Bridge, Azimpura Flyover and Shahrah-e-Bhutto.
These are claims made by the mayor at a political event and should be attributed accordingly rather than presented as independently audited assessments of the PPP’s infrastructure record.
Rs4 Billion Spending for Korangi and Landhi
Wahab said Rs2 billion was being spent in Korangi and another Rs2 billion in Landhi on development work.
Nasir Hussain Shah separately said a combined Rs4 billion had been allocated to the Korangi and Landhi industrial areas, with the aim of improving infrastructure and supporting employment opportunities.
Shah said the funding was intended to improve conditions in industrial zones rather than being presented as a political favour to residents or businesses.
The investment is significant because Korangi and Landhi contain major industrial clusters that contribute substantially to Karachi’s manufacturing economy.
However, the statements reviewed do not provide a detailed project-by-project breakdown of the Rs4 billion allocation, completion schedule or independent assessment of its economic impact.
PPP and MQM Rivalry Returns to Spotlight
Wahab’s remarks place Karachi’s longstanding PPP-MQM political rivalry back at the centre of the city’s development debate.
The MQM and its political predecessors have historically exercised substantial electoral influence in Karachi’s urban constituencies, including parts of Korangi.
The PPP currently controls the Karachi mayoralty and Sindh provincial government and has increasingly emphasized infrastructure delivery as part of its political strategy in the metropolis.
Wahab’s comments that MQM’s “rule” in Korangi was over should therefore be understood as a partisan political assertion, rather than a neutral description of the district’s current electoral landscape.
The source report reviewed did not include an immediate response from MQM-Pakistan to the mayor’s remarks.
Major Autism Facility Planned in Korangi
The ceremony also included announcements concerning healthcare and social infrastructure.
Wahab said the Sindh government had established an autism centre four years ago, contrasting the provincial government’s record with what he described as promises elsewhere.
Nasir Hussain Shah said another major autism facility, called “Inclusive City,” was being developed along Shahrah-e-Bhutto in Korangi.
The minister described it as a major autism centre for the region.
Because the facility is still described as under construction, it should not be reported as already operational.
Shah also highlighted the Sindh government’s financial support for Indus Hospital, saying the provincial government was its largest donor. That statement is attributable to the minister and was not independently audited in the source material reviewed.
‘Development Is Government’s Responsibility’
Shah said spending on major development schemes should not be portrayed as a favour to citizens, describing public service and infrastructure provision as the government’s responsibility.
He said the provincial administration was working to implement the political vision of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari and invoked former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s “roti, kapra aur makan” — food, clothing and shelter — slogan.
According to Shah, the PPP’s approach was to include different sections of society in development and governance.
He also said Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Karachi Mayor Wahab regularly visited areas of the city late at night without media coverage or protocol.
That statement is the minister’s characterization of the officials’ working practices rather than an independently verified finding.
Infrastructure Becomes Political Battleground
The inauguration highlights how roads, flyovers, industrial infrastructure and municipal services are becoming central to political competition in Karachi.
Wahab framed the Korangi projects as evidence that the PPP was replacing political confrontation with service delivery. His criticism of MQM, however, ensured that the inauguration itself remained politically charged.
For Karachi residents, the more measurable test will be whether the new infrastructure improves traffic movement, connectivity and access to industrial areas.
Neither the Express report nor corroborating coverage reviewed provides traffic-flow data, a detailed cost for the Korangi No. 5 Flyover itself, or an independent assessment of the project’s expected impact. Those details should therefore not be inferred.
