A young boy tragically fell into an open manhole and drowned in Shah Faisal Colony on Sunday evening, according to rescue officials.
The incident sparked widespread outrage on social media. The opposition party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), criticized the Pakistan Peoples Party-led provincial government and raised concerns about the performance of the Jamaat-i-Islami-led municipal administration in the affected area.
A Rescue-1122 official told Dawn that a family had attended a wedding at the Tahira Ashrafi Hall. Two brothers, six-year-old Ibad and four-year-old Huzaifa, had been playing outside the hall when they fell into the open manhole leading to a nearby drain. The official stated that locals quickly arrived at the scene and rescued the older brother, Ibad, but there was no sign of Huzaifa.
Rescue teams were notified and arrived at the scene, but their search initially proved unsuccessful. As the drain’s main channel is located two kilometers away in Bagh-i-Korangi, a search operation was launched there, and the child’s body was found floating in the water.
The body was taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal procedures.
Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori took notice of the incident and spoke with Mayor Murtaza Wahab, urging him to take action to cover open manholes across the city.
Meanwhile, MQM-P demanded that the provincial authorities investigate the failures of the municipal administration.