Imran Abbas Urges Politicians to Take Karachi as Seriously as Tabish Hashmi’s Joke
Published On 29 Jan, 2026
Sharing his views on Instagram, Abbas said the reaction from politicians missed the real issues highlighted in Hashmi’s remarks.
“If politicians took Karachi even 1/100th as seriously as they take Tabish Hashmi’s joke, since anyone can tell it wasn’t said in a literal sense, they wouldn’t be dodging the real issues he was pointing out,” Abbas wrote in an Instagram story without naming any politician.
The debate began after Hashmi, while discussing the deadly Gul Plaza fire during a program on a private news channel, suggested the privatisation of Karachi. Comparing the situation to the government’s decision to privatise Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Hashmi said Karachi’s residents could manage the city better themselves.
“If the government realised it could not run PIA and decided to privatise it, then Karachi should also be privatised. We, the people of Karachi Pathan, Baloch, Sindhi, Muhajir, Punjabi will handle it ourselves. If this is the current standard of governance, we can run it better, because it cannot be run worse than this,” he said.
Sharjeel Inam Memon responded sharply to the comments, calling them “foolish” and “stupid” while speaking to journalists on Tuesday. Without naming Hashmi, the senior minister said the individual lacked an understanding of constitutional law, history, and the geography of Sindh.
“The individual who said this had neither studied constitutional law nor understood Sindh’s historical and geographical importance. Such comments showed a serious lack of awareness about Sindh’s constitutional role within Pakistan,” Memon said.
He also urged the concerned private television channel to conduct an internal inquiry and take disciplinary action against the anchorperson. “Media organisations must promote responsible journalism and avoid spreading misleading narratives about Karachi and Sindh,” he added.
Memon further stressed Sindh’s central role in the creation of Pakistan and said many people comment on sensitive issues related to Karachi without proper knowledge of the province’s history and geography.
The remarks came in the aftermath of a massive fire at Gul Plaza on the night of January 17. The blaze destroyed the multi-storey shopping complex, which housed around 1,200 shops selling children’s clothing, toys, crockery, and household items.
According to reports, authorities have recovered more than 79 bodies so far, while rescue teams continue search operations at the site.
