“18 years, 360 deaths”: Who answers for Karachi’s collapse under PPP’s Sindh government ?

From Dumper Killings To Street Crime, From Crumbling Roads To Broken Hospitals: A Data-Driven Audit Of 2008-2026 Governance "O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah" — Quran, Surah An-Nisa 4:135

KARACHI: On September 7, 2026, Karachi buried two more sons. Shahzad, 28, shot dead in Liaquatabad for refusing to hand over his motorcycle. Hamza Farooq, 18, crushed by a speeding dumper in Korangi. By nightfall, citizens had torched a vehicle and blocked roads, asking the same question they have asked for 18 years: Who is responsible?

This is not about one incident. This is about a system.

Since 2008, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has held uninterrupted executive power in Sindh. During this period, it has also governed at the federal level in coalition or independently for multiple terms. Law and order, health, education, roads, and local infrastructure are constitutionally provincial subjects under the 18th Amendment.

Minute Mirror conducted a 3-month audit of official data, court records, audit reports, and on-ground reporting to answer one question: What has 18 years of single-party provincial rule delivered to Sindh, and specifically to Karachi — the city that contributes over 50% of Pakistan’s tax revenue?

PART 1: THE SECURITY AUDIT – “BLOOD ON THE STREETS”

The Data Jan 1 – Sep 7, 2026:
– 217 people killed by dumpers, tankers and heavy traffic
– 143 people killed in street crime incidents
– Total: 360 fatalities, or 1.3 deaths per day

Korangi District alone: 41 dumper deaths. Liaquatabad: 24 street crime killings. These are the same areas where Monday’s protests erupted.

Institutional Failures Documented:

1. Judicial Commission Findings – Mir Raza Case 2026: A SHC-led Judicial Commission in September 2026 flagged “deliberate withholding of evidence” and “crime scene tampering allegations” by police officials. The commission removed an MLO from post and issued notices to senior police over deficient investigations. The case exposed how digital evidence handling and initial autopsies can compromise high-profile probes.
2. Enforcement Gap: Despite laws mandating speed governors and timing restrictions for heavy vehicles, “monitoring of heavy transport vehicles within commercial areas” was admitted by authorities as “a challenge” in official statements this month.
3. CPLC Data: Recovery rate for snatched vehicles/phones remains below 18% in 2026.

What the law says: Policing is a provincial subject. The Sindh Police Act, 2019 places operational control with the provincial government.

PART 2: THE DEVELOPMENT AUDIT – WHERE DID THE MONEY GO?

Karachi generates an estimated 50%+ of Pakistan’s federal tax collection. Yet residents face:

1. Health: JPMC, Abbasi Shaheed and Civil Hospital continue to operate on emergency grants. Public audit reports from 2020-2024 repeatedly flagged “irregularities in procurement and ghost employees” in Sindh Health Department without naming individuals pending court verdicts.

2. Education: Sindh’s literacy rate remains at 57.5% as per PBS 2023. Multiple Auditor General of Pakistan reports between 2018-2024 noted “billions in development funds for schools” with incomplete projects and “siphoning through contractors.”

3. Infrastructure: The same roads in Korangi Furniture Market where Monday’s accident occurred have been “under repair” for 3 consecutive budget years. Citizens allege a pattern of “kickbacks, commissions, and inflated contracts” in road projects. Minute Mirror is not naming any official without conviction, but is citing the pattern flagged in AGP reports and NAB inquiries that remain under process.

4. Water: Karachi receives less than 50% of its required 1200 MGD water supply. The K-IV project, initiated in 2014, remains incomplete despite multiple budget allocations.

PART 3: THE “SYSTEM” CITIZENS TALK ABOUT

In interviews across Korangi, Liaquatabad, Nazimabad and SITE, Minute Mirror heard one word repeatedly: “System”.

Residents describe it not as a party, but as a network of:
– Contractor Mafia: Winning road and building contracts through political connections
– Transport Mafia: Operating dumpers without fitness, insurance, or driver training
– Land Mafia: Encroaching public land with impunity
– Police-Political Nexus: Allegations of case manipulation and evidence tampering, as flagged in the Mir Raza judicial proceedings

The modus operandi, residents say, has remained similar for decades: change of names, same practices of corruption, commissions, and siphoning of public funds.

This report does not allege guilt against any individual without due process. It documents patterns verified by:
1. Public Accounts Committee reports
2. Auditor General Reports 2018-2025
3. Judicial Commission observations 2026
4. On-record citizen testimony

PART 4: THE CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION

Article 140-A and the 18th Amendment made provinces autonomous in law & order, health, education and local govt.

With power comes responsibility. With 18 years of continuous rule comes accountability.

What Citizens Are Demanding Now:

1. Independent Audit of all development funds in Karachi from 2008-2026
2. Judicial Commission on dumper mafia and traffic police collusion
3. Police Reforms with merit-based postings and body cams
4. Emergency Traffic Law banning heavy vehicles in commercial areas 7AM-11PM

OFFICIAL RESPONSE

Minute Mirror sent detailed questions to Sindh Government, Home Department, and Karachi Mayor’s office on September 5, 2026. As of publication, response is awaited. The government has previously stated that “law and order challenges are due to federal resource constraints and population growth.”

THE BOTTOM LINE

Two young men died on the same day, 15 kilometers apart, for two different reasons. One was killed by a bullet. One was killed by a tire.

Both deaths point to the same failure: the failure of the state to protect life.

Surah Al-Hujurat 49:9 commands believers to “make peace between them with justice.” Justice begins with accountability.

Karachi does not need more statements. It needs: safer roads, working hospitals, functional police, and clean water.

The people of Sindh, and especially Karachi’s taxpayers, deserve answers — not after the next election, but now.