Sindh Assembly passes Local Government Act 2026 amid opposition uproar

Law Minister Zia ul Hassan Lanjar presented the Sindh Local Government Act 2026, containing amendments to local government laws, in the Sindh Assembly session. Opposition members protested strongly and raised slogans in the House.

Opposition members tore up copies of the bill in protest. Amid the uproar, the bill was put to a vote and the Sindh Assembly passed the Sindh Local Government Act 2026 by majority. The session was then adjourned until 3pm on Tuesday.

After the session, opposition parties rejected the passage of the bill and announced that they would approach the court. Opposition member Shabbir Qureshi said that he rejected the Local Government Bill. He said Murtaza Wahab had been imposed through horse-trading in 2023, and if this happened again, the suspicion of rigging would turn into certainty.

Jamaat-e-Islami member Muhammad Farooq said the Local Government Act did not give powers to local bodies. He said that even after the 18th Amendment, the government had kept the powers with itself. He said the amendment to make elected political figures political administrators if elections were not held was against democracy.

Muhammad Farooq said PTI, Jamaat-e-Islami and MQM had fully opposed the bill. He said Jamaat-e-Islami would go to court against the bill because it was anti-democracy and did not protect the rights of the people.

MQM Leader of the Opposition Ali Khurshidi accused the Sindh government of political dictatorship. He said all other business of the Assembly was set aside and the bill was suddenly passed. He said all political parties, inside and outside parliament, rejected the bill. He said that on one side was the PPP and on the other were the people of Sindh.

Ali Khurshidi said there was a Supreme Court decision on local government powers, but the Sindh government was showing contempt for the court’s ruling by passing the bill. He said wrong decisions were being made on the strength of a majority and the government’s attitude was dictatorial. He said the people of Sindh rejected such democracy.