KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) announced Dr. Saifur Rehman, a government official, as the new administrator of Karachi on Thursday.
A recent agreement between the PPP and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) that would bolster the local government system in the province led to the choice of a grade-20 official.
In September of last year, Murtaza Wahab, a former administrator of Karachi, submitted his resignation after the Sindh High Court (SHC) prohibited the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) from collecting taxes through K-Electric bills. The provincial administration has not yet approved his resignation, though.
Since Wahab submitted his resignation, the MQM-P, a coalition partner of the PDM-led government in the Center, has demanded the nomination of one of its leaders or a government official as administrator of the port city.
The PPP and the MQM-P recently made a political compromise in which the latter withdrew from the race for the Senate by-election in favour of the former’s candidate, leading to the decision to nominate Saifur Rehman.