Overview
- At a Karachi press conference, Federal Health Minister and MQM-P leader Mustafa Kamal urged placing the city under federal administration and called for scrapping or rolling back the 18th Amendment.
- Kamal cited the Gul Plaza tragedy and invoked Articles 148 and 149 as the legal basis for federal intervention, alleging persistent governance failure by the PPP-led Sindh government.
- The latest salvo followed a National Assembly clash in which PML-N minister Rana Tanveer Hussain echoed Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s criticism of the amendment, drawing a sharp response from PPP’s Syed Naveed Qamar.
- Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar sought to contain the fallout by saying Asif’s remarks reflected his personal opinion rather than government policy.
- Asif has argued the 2010 amendment became a hollow slogan due to poor execution and urged genuine empowerment of local governments to improve basic services and emergency response.