City Council members come to blows over alleged misuse of plots in Karachi

A heated dispute over two Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) plots in Jamshed Quarters led to a storm in the City Council on Friday, with ruling and opposition members shouting slogans, confronting each other, and at one point coming to blows. The disagreement began after Mayor Murtaza Wahab alleged that the KMC had given plots No. 503 and 504 to Al-Khidmat for "welfare purposes" but that the land was later used for Idara Noor-i-Haq, the Jamaat-i-Islami headquarters.

Opposition leader Saifuddin Advocate challenged the claim, asserting he had official records proving the mayor wrong. The exchange quickly turned into a noisy confrontation, with opposition members accusing the mayor of making a false statement and PPP members responding with slogans. The scuffle involved several lawmakers from both sides, with some gathering in front of the mayor's dais and tearing his clothes.

Mayor Wahab left the chair during the uproar, and the session resumed in a relatively calmer atmosphere after he returned about 10 minutes later.

Brief written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.