While the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) on Saturday defended the restoration of the commissionerate system in Sindh, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) threatened to opt for a civil disobedience movement.
“The MQM will oppose the old system in a democratic manner and can opt for even civil disobedience movement if the government tried to push the party to the wall, said Senator Col (retd) Tahir Mashhadi while talking to Pakistan Today.
Commenting on the promulgation of the ordinance, MQM Senator Col (Retd) Tahir Mashhadi said that the parties supporting the division of the city of Karachi into five districts intended to encroach upon the vote bank of MQM through unfair delimiting local bodies’ constituencies.
“They represent the feudal class, not the common man, and want to deprive the MQM of its vote bank because they know that the MQM cannot be defeated through fair elections. Now they have designed a plan to revive the old commissionerate and delimit the local bodies’ constituencies in an unfair manner to encroach upon the MQM vote bank”, Mushhidi said.
However, secretary general of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Sindh chapter Taj Haider fully defended the promulgation of the ordinance issued by acting Sindh governor to reverse the local government system in the province.
He said it was the ‘Musharraf-tailored’ local government system introduced in violation to the constitution. He said that under the constitution, no indirectly elected individual could exercise financial and executive powers.
“Under the constitution, no member of the Senate could be elected as prime minister as the senators are elected indirectly. Likewise, since a district nazim was not elected directly and town nazims elect him or her, he or she could not exercise executive and financial powers,” Haider added.
The PPP leader said there was another legal hitch in the system that it had multiple member constituencies while under the constitution there was the only provision of single member constituencies.
“Under the previous system, even all the 13 councillors could be elected from one street which was against the spirit of local electorate system as every constituency should have at least one representative,” he added.
He said the local government system also had bypassed the respective provincial government which was again unconstitutional. He said there was also no legislative list in the Musharraf’s system which was again in violation to the constitution. He said that the ordinance would not be reversed even in the wake of another political alliance with the MQM.
Meanwhile, ANP Sindh Chief Shahi Sayed said that the Muhajir community wanted to keep Pakhtuns, Balochis and Punjabis hostages through administrative means.
“The Urdu speaking people are in majority only in central parts of the city neither in Malir and southern parts and if the commissionerate system is restored the city again will again be divided into five districts”, he observed. As per demography, MQM will have majority only in two districts then, he added.
He said reviving the old system would empower people to resolve their issues.