Mayor of Karachi (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Karachi metropolitan corporation Karachi Metropolitan Corporation () is a public corporation and governing body to provide municipal services in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan. History 1852 Karachi Conservancy Board was established to control cholera epidemics in Kara ...

and the Karachi local government system of the city of

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

which is the third tier of governance in Pakistan after Federal and provincial governments. Presently the post resides with

Sindh government The Government of Sindh ( sd, حڪومت سنڌ) ( ur, ) is the provincial government of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its powers and structure are set out in the provisions of the 1973 Constitution, in which 30 Districts of 7 Divisions un ...

appointed Administrator until elections are held. PK Karachi asv2020-02 img74 KMC Building

History

Ancient local government system in South Asia

The history of Karachi dates back to ancient periods. Before the Christian era, various towns and cities existed near the present day Karachi such as

Barbarikon Barbarikon ( grc, Βαρβαρικόν) was the name of a sea port near the modern-day city of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, important in the ancient era of the Indian subcontinent in Indian Ocean trade. The port is considered one of the premiere por ...

Debal Debal (Urdu, Arabic, sd, ) was an ancient port located near modern Karachi, Pakistan. It is adjacent to the nearby Manora Island and was administered by Mansura, and later Thatta. Etymology In Arabic history books, most notably in the early ...

, and

Banbhore Banbhore, Bambhore, Bhanbhore or Bhambhore ( sd, ڀنڀور; ) is a city dating to the 1st century BCE located in modern-day Sindh, Pakistan. The city ruins lie on the N-5 National Highway, east of Karachi. It dates back to the Scytho-Parthi ...

. Local government system in the Indian subcontinent dates back to

Mauryan empire The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

or earlier. Public drains and sewage system, solid waste management, public dust bins, and street lamps at

Mohenjo Daro Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men';Pataliputra Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the ...

and handled affairs such as fixing wages, controlling manufacturing and supplies, arrangement of foreign dignitaries, tourists and foreigners, handling records and registrations, collection of sales taxes, trade regulation, issuing licenses for weights and measurements, and municipal responsibilities. During ancient times, the Mayor of the city was called Nagarika and in the medieval periods,

Kotwal The Kotwal also spelled as Cotwal, or Kotval was a title used in medieval India for the leader of a Kot or fort. Kotwals often controlled the fort of a major town or an area of smaller towns on behalf of another ruler. It was similar in functio ...

s came to administer major towns and cities. The mayors were appointed by the King rather than being elected. The

Panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical ment ...

(assembly of five elders) system traced in the Rig Veda back to 1200 BC (Alok 2006).

British Indian Empire

The first local government elections in Karachi were held on 1 November 1884 and Karachi municipality was authorized to elect its president. Jamshed Nusserwanji Mehta became the first elected mayor of Karachi in 1933 when Karachi municipal corporation was first created from Karachi municipal committee, he served as the president of the Karachi municipal committee for 20 years prior. Owing to multiethnic composition, the different religious groups took turns as mayors of Karachi such as

Parsis Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim co ...

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

until the Independence of Pakistan in 1947.

Post Independence

First unofficial party based mayors were elected during the era of

Zia ul Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...

and Jamaat-e-Islami politician

Abdul Sattar Afghani Abdul Sattar Afghani ( ur, عبدالستار افغانی; 6 July 1930 – 4 November 2006) was a politician from Karachi, Pakistan. He was twice elected Mayor of Karachi and once an elected member of the National Assembly of Pakistan (MNA ...

became the first mayor of Karachi with predominant political representation though the mayors remained unauthoritative. During the presidential rule of Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the local governments were reinstated with much better powers and control, which lasted until 2010. Under directives of

Pakistan Supreme court The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate ...

in 2016, the local government system was revived but the provincial amendments to the local government act diminished the mayoral authority which once again became superficial and powerless.

Administrative divisions

The current Karachi Local Government System follows Sindh Local Government Act 2013 (SLGA 2013) The

Local Government consists of

Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Karachi Metropolitan Corporation () is a public corporation and governing body to provide municipal services in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan. History 1852 Karachi Conservancy Board was established to control cholera epidemics in Kara ...

which is subdivided into of 7 District Municipal Corporations (DMCs) which are headed by Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen. the districts or Zila of Karachi Local Government as of Sindh local government act 2013 are District Central, District West, District East, District South,

Malir Malir Town ( sd, ملير ٽائون, ur, ) lies in the northern part of the city that was named after the Malir River. History Administrative status 2000 The federal government under introduced local government reforms in the year 2 ...

Korangi and

Keamari District Keamari District ( sd, ڪياماڙي ضلعو, ur, is an administrative district of Karachi Division in Sindh, Pakistan. History Keamari District was created after splitting Karachi West District in 2020. Demographics At the time of the 2 ...

. Each district is further divided into Union Committees (UCs) which are headed by Chairmen and vice chairmen. Each Union committee is further sub divided into four wards. The Local government elections directly elect the UC chairmen/vice chairmen panel and the 4 ward members of each UC. the seats are reserved for women, non Muslim minorities, youth members and labours in a Union Committee all of which are indirectly elected by the direct election of chairman/vice chairman panel. The chairman of a Union committee belongs to the City council/KMC and elects the Mayor/deputy mayor candidate, while the Vice Chairman of Union Committee elects the chairman/Vice chairman of District Municipal corporation (DMC) and works in District municipal corporation office.

The City Hall

The historic and iconic building of

(KMC) houses the offices of mayor and deputy mayor of the city and the city council Hall with 304 members (Union committee chairmen). The foundation of the building was laid in 1927 and the construction was completed on 1930. the cost of building was 1,725,000 RS. KDA Scheme 1 in

Gulshan-e-Iqbal Gulshan-e-Iqbal ( ur, ) is a large middle-class to upper middle class (Block 15,16,17,18) residential and commercial neighborhood in the Karachi East district of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It was previously administered as part of the Gulshan T ...

'Camp Office' is the official residence for the Deputy Mayor of Karachi.

List of Mayors

Mayors of Karachi (1933 - 1962)

Karachi mayors were elected through

Karachi Municipal Corporation Karachi Metropolitan Corporation () is a public corporation and governing body to provide municipal services in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan. History 1852 Karachi Conservancy Board was established to control cholera epidemics in Kara ...

elections or appointed.

Mayors of Karachi (1979 - Present)

Former President of Pakistan Zia ul Haq conducted first popular local government elections in 1979 which were non party based but the parties still fielded their candidates. The victorious mayor Abdul Sattar Afghani was affiliated with Jamaat-e-Islami.

Election

The most recent Local government elections were held in 2015 and mayor elections took place through voting of chairmen of union committees (members of KMC) on 24 August 2016. * The 308 directly and indirectly elected members of Union Committee of KMC voted for Mayor of Karachi on 24 August 2016. Waseem Akhter comfortably defeated 6 party alliance formed to contest against the city's dominant political force, the MQM PTI Karachi leader Faisal Vawda submitted petition for the disqualification of Karachi mayor-elect Waseem Akhter few hours before his oath taking ceremony in the Sindh High Court. Sindh High Court withdrew his production orders and all sessions judges in Karachi were stopped from administering the oath after not getting clearance from the Sindh High Court. Faisal Vawda petition was later rejected and second production orders were issued. Waseem Akhter was crowned mayor of Karachi on 30 August 2016. Ceremony was held at Polo Ground.

Authority

According to Sindh Assembly parliamentarian,

Khurrum Sher Zaman Khurrum Sher Zaman is a Pakistani politician who has been a member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, since August 2018. He was previously a member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh from May 2013 to May 2018. Early life and education He wa ...

, the outgoing Karachi mayor, Waseem Akhter was powerless. The Outgoing mayor, Waseem Akhter stated that the Karachi Development Authority (KDA),

Karachi Water and Sewerage Board Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) is responsible for production, transmission and distribution of potable water to the citizens of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. History Karachi Joint Water Board constituted in 1953 was the first body which wa ...

(KW&SB), Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA; renamed to SBCA), the Karachi Revenue Department, the Karachi Land Registry, KMTA, the Karachi Department of Transportation (now SMTA), and the KSWMA (now SSWMA) were removed from Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and merged into the KDA. The Karachi Development Authority (KDA) itself was divided into the

Malir Development Authority Malir Development Authority was established to oversee the development of Malir Town, Malir in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It was merged with the City District Government Karachi (CDGK), City District Government Karachi in 2001 but were reinstated a ...

and

Lyari Development Authority Lyari Development Authority (LDA) was established in 1993 by the Government of Sindh to oversee the development of Lyari, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It was merged with the City District Government Karachi in 2001 but were reinstated after its diss ...

. Most powers of these city agencies were taken over by the Sindh provincial government for instance by creation of Sindh government bodies like Sindh Building Control Authority. (SBCA). According to SLGA 2013, the Octroi Zila tax was taken away from KMC and Sindh government has provided annual release of funds which were not even enough to pay the salaries of its 24,000 employees. According to the act the provincial government reserved powers to terminate any official of the local body. The Mayor has only the function of road construction and maintenance, managing big hospitals and Karachi Medical & Dental College, Karachi Zoo, Safari Park, City Aquarium, Sports Complex, Art Gallery, Museum, Metropolitan Library, Fire Fighting, Civil Defense, Traffic Engineering, removal of encroachments and few other affairs. According to a review report, the powers of the KMC seemed strangely limited given its status as the biggest LG body in Sindh. Some key LG functions did not fall under the purview of the KMC, e.g., health, education, environment, overall development, security etc. and other functions which were included under its domain fr instance control of stray animals, brick kilns and cattle colonies seem trivial for it and more appropriate for UCs. The six DMCs were made almost independent with little connection with the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation. moreover, the DMCs (District Municipal corporations) and even UCs (Union Committees) controlled by the PPP liaise directly with the provincial government for funds and direction, bypassing the KMC. According to

world bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

report, revenues of Karachi local government or KMC are inadequate, with a high dependence on fiscal transfers from Government of Sindh accounting for more than 80% of its revenue. Mandates are limited, with Government of Sindh recently "recentralizing" municipal services such as Sindh waste Management (SWM). The taxes assigned to KMC were much smaller than the ones assigned to other Local governments despite the fact that KMC was the largest LG body in Sindh The powers of the Mayor of Karachi is as follows. * Limited

Budget

Karachi budget formulated by its mayors during first and last years of their tenure.Document of The World Bank Report No. 11106-PAK STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT PAKISTAN SINDH SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT NOVEMBER 24, 1993 Energy and Infrastructure Operations Division Country Department III South Asia Region
/ref>Urban government finances in Karachi - World Bank
/ref>

References

{{Karachi topics

* Mayors, Karachi

Mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities ...