Business Recorder
KARACHI: Senator Syed Waqar Mehdi, senior leader of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Sunday criticised rival Muttahida Qaumi Movement- Pakistan (MQM), accusing the party of failing to deliver meaningful development for Karachi during its years in power. Responding to a statement issued by an MQM-Pakistan spokesperson, Mehdi, who is also PPP Sindh General Secretary, said the MQM’s political legacy in Karachi was marked by violence and unrest rather than public service. “MQM only destroyed the homes the people of Karachi, filled graveyards and stained the city’s streets with blood,” Mehdi said in a statement, adding that the party had little else to show for its tenure in government. He said the PPP-led Sindh government had completed billions of rupees worth of development projects in Karachi over the past 17 years, while dozens more were currently under construction, resulting in what he described as a “positive transformation” in the city. Mehdi defended the recently inaugurated Shahrah-e-Bhutto project, calling it a landmark initiative of the provincial government under the leadership of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. He said the 39.5-kilometer expressway, built at a cost of around Rs57 billion, would significantly improve traffic flow in Karachi and help commuters save both travel time and fuel expenses. According to Mehdi, nearly 25,000 vehicles are expected to use the corridor daily. The PPP leader also criticised MQM’s performance during periods when it controlled Karachi Mayor and Deputy Mayor’s offices and participated in successive federal governments, alleging the party failed to address the city’s long-standing civic problems. “MQM has become a chapter of the past,” he said. “The people of Karachi now recognize its anti-public politics and will no longer be misled.” The statement reflects continuing political tensions between the PPP-led Sindh government and MQM-Pakistan over governance, development projects and representation in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and commercial hub. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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