Mayor of Karachi (Urdu: ; ) is the executive of the Karachi metropolitan corporation and the Karachi local government system of the city of Karachi, which is the third tier of governance in Pakistan after federal and provincial governments.
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, Debal, and Banbhore. Local government system in the Indian subcontinent dates back to Mauryan empire or earlier. Public drains and sewage system, solid waste management, public dust bins, and street lamps at Mohenjo Daro indicate the presence of municipal organizations and services. During the Mauryan empire, a council of thirty commissioners was divided into six committees or boards which governed the city of Pataliputra 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, Kotwals came to administer major towns and cities. The mayors were appointed by the King rather than being elected. The Panchayat (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, Muslims, Hindus and Christians until the Independence of Pakistan in 1947.
Post Independence First unofficial party based mayors were elected during the era of Zia ul Haq and Jamaat-e-Islami politician Abdul Sattar Afghani 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 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 Karachi Local Government consists of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation which is subdivided into 25 Town Municipal Corporations (TMCs) which are headed by a chairman and a vice chairman. Each town is further divided into union committees (UCs) for a total of 246 union committees in Karachi which are headed by a chairman and a vice chairman as well. Each union committee is further subdivided into four wards. The local government elections directly elect the UC chairman/vice chairman panel and the 4 ward members of each UC. There are reserved seats for women, non-Muslim minorities, youth members, labor and transgender people in a union committee, all of which are indirectly elected by the direct election of chairman/vice chairman panel. There are 121 reserved seats in the city council.
The chairman of a union committee belongs to the city council (KMC) and elects the mayor/deputy mayor candidate, while the vice chairman of a union committee elects the chairman/vice chairman of the Town Municipal corporation (TMC).
246 union committee seats alongside 121 reserved seats make up the city council of 367 seats.
The City Hall
The historic and iconic building of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) houses the offices of mayor and deputy mayor of the city and the city council hall with 367 members (union committee chairmen). The foundation of the building was laid in 1927 and the construction was completed in 1930. The cost of building was 1,725,000 RS.
KDA Scheme 1 in Gulshan-e-Iqbal '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 elections or appointed. +List of mayors of Karachi (1933–1962)NoName of nazimStarting termEnding termNotes1Jamshed Nusserwanji Mehta November 1933 August 1934First Mayor of Karachi, 1st Parsi mayor2Teakum Dass Vadhumull 30 August 1934 3 May 1935First Hindu mayor of the city3 Qazi Khuda Bukhsh 3 May 19359 May 1936First Muslim mayor of the city4Ardeshir H. Mama 9 May 19364 May 19372nd Parsi mayor5Durgadas Advani 4 May 19376 May 1938Amil Sindhi business magnate6Hatim Ali Alavi 6 May 19385 May 19397R.K. Sidhwa 5 May 19397 May 19408Lalji Malhootra 7 May 19406 May 19419Muhammad Hashim Gazdar 6 May 19418 May 194210Sohrab Katrak 8 May 194211 May 1943Parsi historian and author11Shambo Nath Molraaj 11 May 194310 May 194412Yousaf Abdullah Haroon 10 May 19448 May 1945son of Sir Abdullah Haroon13Manuel Misquita 8 May 19451 May 1946First Christian mayor of Karachi, former president of Goan Pakistani14Wishram Das Dewan Das 9 May 19469 May 194715Hakeem Muhammad Ahsan 9 May 194725 May 194816Ghulam Ali Alana 25 May 19488 July 19481st post- independence mayor of the city, Biographer of founder of Pakistan17Allah Bakhsh Gabol (1st term) Apr 195110 January 1953Grandfather of politician Nabil Gabol18H.M. Habibullah Paracha (first term) 1953 1954Grandfather of Habib Paracha (an American-Pakistani film-maker)19Mahmoud Haroon 19 January 195426 May 1955Founder Editor of Khaleej Times and second son of Sir Abdullah Haroon20Al-Haj Malik Bagh Ali 26 May 195529 May 195621Siddique Wahab 30 May 195614 December 195622S.M.Taufiq 14 June 195814 October 195823Allah Bakhsh Gabol (2nd term) May 1961October 1962Administrator system (1962–1979)
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.
+List of mayors of Karachi (since 1979)NoName of nazimDeputy Mayor (Naib Nazim)Starting termEnding termPartyNotes24Abdul Sattar Afghani (1st term)Umer Yousuf Deda9 November 19797 November 1983JINon-partisan Local govt by Gen. Zia, KMC established its subsidiary body the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board in 1983.25Abdul Sattar Afghani (2nd term)Abdul Khaliq Allahwala7 November 198314 February 1987JIAbdul Sattar Afghani was arrested by police under section 144 when he was leading the councilor's procession outside the Sindh Assembly building. The elected council was then suspended and Saeed Ahmed Siddiqui was appointed as the administrator of KMC.Administrator System implemented from 1987–198826Farooq SattarAbdul Razik Khan9 January 198827 July 1992MQM-LYoungest Mayor of the world at the age of 28. The elected council of KMC was suspended in July 1992, just after a month when an operation clean-up was launched by the federal government in Karachi in June 1992, and replaced the Mayor with an administrator, appointed by the government.Administrator System implemented from 1992–200127Naimatullah KhanMuhammad Tariq Hassan14 August 2001June 2005JINon-partisan City District govt 2001–2010 by Gen. Musharraf, under Sindh Local Government Ordinance (SLGO) 2001. He resigned from his office in June 2005.28Syed Mustafa KamalNasreen Jalil17 October 2005February 2010MQM-LCommissioner System implemented from 2010–201629Waseem AkhtarArshad Abdullah Vohra30 August 201629 August 2020MQM-PFirst party based Local elections of Pakistan, under Sindh Local Govt Act (SLGA 2013). Arshad Vohra served as acting mayor Aug, 30 2016 to Nov, 16 2016 before release of Waseem Akhtar. Vohra was removed when he joined PSP in 2018.Arshad Hassan30Murtaza WahabSalman Abdullah Murad15 June 202313 June 2027PPP
Election
The most recent local government elections were held in 2023 and mayor elections took place through voting of chairmen of union committees (members of KMC) on 15 June 2023. Murtaza Wahab, mayoral candidate of PPP was elected as the mayor of Karachi.
Karachi Mayor Election, 2023# CandidateKMC Percentage1 Pakistan Peoples PartyMurtaza Wahab17347.1%2Jamaat-e-IslamiHafiz Naeem ur Rehman16043.5%3Tehreek-e-InsafKhurrum Sher Zaman349.4%Total 367100%
Authority and functions KMC's functions include flyovers, storm water drains (nullahs), special development programmes, maintenance work, municipal watch and ward, fire fighting services, civil defense, traffic engineering, management of milk supply schemes, encroachment management on its land and properties, celebration of national days, reception of foreign dignitaries/distinguished guests.
106 roads & arterial thoroughfares of Karachi, 38 flyovers and 37 storm water drains (nullahs) of Karachi come under KMC's control. Alongside that, KMC also controls and manages 7 medical institutes/hospitals in Karachi, including: Karachi Medical and Dental College (KMDC), Karachi institute of Heart disease (KIHD), Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Sobhraj Maternity Home, Sarfaraz Shaheed Hospital, Spencer’s Eye Hospital and Leprosy Hospital. KMC is also responsible for maintaining Zoological Gardens, Safari Parks, Aquariums, Sports Complexes, Beeches, Art Galleries, Museums and Metropolitan Libraries under its jurisdiction.
The mayor of Karachi is also the chairman of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) and the divisional board of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board for Karachi.
Major municipal institutes like Karachi Development Authority (KDA), Lyari Development Authority (LDA), Malir Development Authority (MDA), Sindh Mass Transit Authority and the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) are still under the provincial government which restricts the control of KMC over the city and limits the powers of a mayor.
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 RegionUrban government finances in Karachi – World Bank +Budget of Karachi under mayorship (1979–2020)Fiscal YearAmount (Rs. Billion)Amount ($. Million)MayorAdministratorNotes1979–800.459Abdul Sattar Afghani1984–851.12783.4sic -1987–88sic1988–891.936105Farooq Sattarrevenues grew at an average rate of 11 per year from 1988 to 1992,
well below the nominal growth of Karachi (ADB study).1991–922.841115sic2001-025.7Naimatullah Khan -2004-0543.8740sic -2006-0744.2730Mustafa Kamal -2009-1052.36610sic -2017–1827.1251Waseem Akhter -2020–2124.8150sic -
See also List of mayors of Pakistan Commissioner Karachi Division Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Administrator of Karachi Karachi Development Authority Karachi Water and Sewerage Board Lyari Development Authority Malir Development Authority
References