Make Karachi federal capital again: Agha Siraj Durrani

Article 149 can only provide direction to the provincial government, says Sindh Assembly speaker

Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani on Saturday said that Karachi should again be made the federal capital, as the city was the seat of the federal government at the time of Pakistan's creation.

Speaking to the media outside an accountability court, he said that Article 149 can only provide direction to the provincial government.

Never talked about making Karachi a province: Farogh Naseem

Earlier, Federal Law and Justice Minister Farogh Naseem clarified that he never talked about making Karachi a province and his earlier statement was quoted out of context.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday also assured lawmakers from Sindh that the incumbent federal government respected the constitution and the law minister’s remarks about invoking Article 149 in Karachi for taking over administrative control of the city were taken out of context.

“We respect the constitution, have always done so and will do so in the future too. Sindh is an integral part of Pakistan and we will not damage provincial autonomy in any manner," the foreign minister said during a National Assembly session.