KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly echoed with concern on Monday as opposition lawmakers sounded the alarm over the city’s worsening water crisis and pointed to widespread theft through illegal hydrants and the tanker mafia.
During the heated session, legislators from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) strongly criticised the provincial government for its failure and inability to ensure a reliable water supply for Karachi. They demanded immediate action against water theft and urged the mayor to prioritise repairs of the city’s broken pipelines.
Replying to lawmakers’ written and oral queries during Question Hour and different call attention notices, Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government Department Qasim Soomro informed the Sindh Assembly that the Sindh High Court had set up a special tribunal to handle water theft cases. “All cases of water theft will now be heard in this tribunal,” he said, adding that amendments were being drafted to the existing law to impose stricter penalties.
Mr Soomro assured the house that the tribunal would accelerate prosecutions and curb the activities of the water mafia.
Muttahida, PTI and JI lawmakers slam govt over failure to ensure reliable supply
He also said that the long-delayed K4 water project would be finished within a year, after which Karachi’s water shortage would be resolved.
He announced that the provincial government was drafting a proposal with the Sindh Building Control Authority to develop a mapping system that would enable the construction of a rainwater storage tank.
During Question Hour, MQMP’s parliamentary secretary Dr Fouzia Hameed raised a supplementary question, pointing out that any leak in the main water line was invariably accompanied by water theft.
She called for the public disclosure of all individuals linked to the watertheft mafia and urged that nonbailable arrest warrants be issued against them.
The parliamentary secretary said that a fine of over Rs20 million had been imposed on those involved in water theft.
MQM-P’s Abdul Waseem and Muhammad Awais, PTI’s Shabbir Qureshi and JI’s Muhammad Farooq in their call attention notice said that immediate initiatives were required to overcome the water shortage as people of their respective constituencies had been suffering for a very long time.
In her call attention notice, MQM-P’s Qurat-Ul-Ain Khan drew the attention of the excise minister towards the increasing use and sale of drugs in the province, especially in Karachi.
Excise and Narcotics Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla said that anti-drug operations were underway across the province.
He said that special committees consisting of parents and teachers had been formed in schools and random testing of the students was being carried out.
The excise minister also conceded that police and excise department officials were also involved in drug trafficking and action was also being taken against them.
The House unanimously passed a congratulatory resolution on the occasion of the religious festival of Christmas of the Christian community.
The resolution was presented by PPP member Roma Mushtaq.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar, Opposition Leader Ali Khurshidi, PTI’s Shabbir Qureshi, JI’s Muhammad Farooq and Health Minister Dr Azra Peecheehu and MQM-P’s Sabir Kaimkhani in their speeches congratulated the Christian community.
The house also unanimously passed the Thar Coal and Energy Board (Amendment) Bill.
Later, the house was prorogued.
Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2025
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