118 elected on KMC reserved seats take oath

Published June 8, 2023
New councillors, elected on reserved seats, of the City Council take the oath in the British-era building of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation on Wednesday. —Fahim Siddiqi / White Star
New councillors, elected on reserved seats, of the City Council take the oath in the British-era building of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation on Wednesday. —Fahim Siddiqi / White Star

KARACHI: As many as 118 councillors, 55 of them belonging to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and 63 to Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), who were elected on seats reserved for women, labourers, minorities, youth, disabled and transgender persons of the Karachi Metropolitan Corpora­tion’s City Council took oath on Wednesday.

There are a total of 121 reserved seats in the City Council and two members of the PPP — Noor Jahan and Laila Parveen — and one member of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Iqbal Bano, were absent in the oath-taking ceremony.

Karachi Commissioner Muhammed Iqbal Memon administered the oath of the candidates who were successful on the reserved seats in the City Council.

Immediately after the recitation of the Holy Quran for the swearing-in ceremony, Qazi Sadruddin, a JI member, raised an objection that one of the members was a resident of a cantonment board and was not eligible to be elected as a member of the City Council. He demanded that the oath of the member should be stopped until his documents were scrutinised.

The commissioner passed the microphone to the municipal commissioner to give a reply to this objection, but the JI members refused to listen to him, asking the commissioner to give the answer as he was presiding over the oath-taking ceremony.

Amid the JI’s protest, KMC official Jameel Farooqui told them that the swearing-in of any member could not be stopped. Later, the commissioner started taking oath from the members.

Meanwhile, similar oath-taking ceremonies were also held for the councillors elected on reserved seats in six categories in 25 towns of the metropolis.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2023

Opinion

Editorial

Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...
Islamabad protest
Updated 20 Nov, 2024

Islamabad protest

As Nov 24 draws nearer, both the PTI and the Islamabad administration must remain wary and keep within the limits of reason and the law.
PIA uncertainty
20 Nov, 2024

PIA uncertainty

THE failed attempt to privatise the national flag carrier late last month has led to a fierce debate around the...
T20 disappointment
20 Nov, 2024

T20 disappointment

AFTER experiencing the historic high of the One-day International series triumph against Australia, Pakistan came...