The Sindh government led by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Karachi district administration presided over by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) are engaged in confrontation over the transfers and postings of officials. In the next phase of the rift, the Sindh government has posted Manzoor Qadir, a senior official of the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) as the executive district officer and chief building controller, in place of Rauf Akhter Farooqi. Qadir was previously the controller of the planning department. This posting coincides with Karachi Nazim (mayor) Mustafa Kamal's departure on a 10-day visit to the US. It was only a day before when Farooqi received a notification from the mayor, naming him chief of the department, but within 24 hours, he has been removed from his post and been asked to report to the Sindh local government department. Farooqi has had a long career with the KBCA. KBCA chief Brig (retd) A.S. Nasir said that the Karachi district administration was subordinate to the Sindh government and not an independent organization. “They should learn to take instructions from the provincial government on matters such as the KBCA instead of entering into a confrontation,” he commented. “The controversy needs to be resolved amicably.” Referring to the KBCA, he said he felt that as the chairman of the inspection team, he saw the body suffering for the past 4 years. He said that concurrent with his nomination as the chief controller, the introduction of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance 2001 came into immediate conflict with the Sindh Building Control Ordinance 1979. __
