Opposition demands Murtaza Wahab's resignation over Karachi manhole death

KARACHI (Web Desk) - The tragic death of a three-year-old boy after he fell into an uncovered manhole near the Nipa Flyover has unleashed a wave of condemnation and political uproar across Sindh.

The toddler, identified as Ibrahim, slipped into the open drain outside a departmental store late Sunday night while his parents were shopping.

Rescue teams combed the area through the night, but their efforts were hampered by lack of proper equipment and insufficient sewer-data maps.

After more than 14 hours of frantic searching — at one point aided by community members who brought in heavy machinery themselves — the boy’s body was recovered from a drainage channel about one kilometre from the incident site.

The residents claim they made more than 40 calls and emails to relevant authorities overnight, yet only one BRT engineer responded.

During the Sindh Assembly session on Monday, lawmakers blasted the city’s civic administration. Murtaza Wahab, mayor of Karachi, came under fire.

Jamaat-e-Islami’s MPA Muhammad Farooq demanded Wahab’s immediate resignation, holding his government and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) responsible for the “civic collapse.”

Karachi Water Corporation acts on over 1,500 uncovered manhole complaints in 38 days

Independent MPA Rehan Bandukda decried the absence of any machinery to rescue the child, calling it a shameful failure of the city’s emergency response.

“Sometimes it’s a robbery, sometimes a traffic accident, sometimes a gutter that takes a life,” he said, urging legislation to hold negligent officials criminally accountable.

Meanwhile, MQM-P MPA Taha Ahmed questioned why parents had to arrange rescue equipment themselves when public institutions and representatives were in place, criticizing promises of action that never materialise.

Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon expressed sorrow at the loss of young Ibrahim, calling the incident “criminal negligence.”

He said that the rescue efforts had begun within 15–30 minutes, and assured that an inquiry will identify those responsible.

Meanwhile, Mayor Wahab ordered a formal investigation and expressed condolences to the family.

He said that CCTV footage from the store was being obtained and that the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) had been directed to investigate why the manhole cover was missing.