The people of Pakistan are unable to understand why the MQM wants to retain ex-army dictator General Musharraf’s new Local Bodies system when three provinces have already restored the old system and the people of Sindh have also rejected Musharraf’s system.
MQM should respect the opinion of 90 percent of the people of Pakistan who want to see the commissionerate system is restored in the country. Why they (MQM) want to retain such a controversial system only in one city of Pakistan i.e. Karachi?
The people of Sindh still remember during the era of ex-army dictator Musharraf, the five districts of Karachi were merged into one district whereas in Hyderabad, comparatively smaller district was divided into four districts on ethnic basis to please the MQM.
I may remind the founder of MQM Altaf Hussain his repeated statements that he issued in the past that being a “legitimate” son of Sindh, he would not allow division of Sindh in any case. Where is his party going now? Mr Altaf’s mysterious silence on the issue has created suspicions in the minds of the people of Sindh.
I request the MQM chief to clarify his position in view of his old statements to dispel people’s misconceptions.
MOHAMMAD KHAN SIAL
Karachi
(II)
Almost countries in the world have long indigenous histories of local governance. Pakistan inherited the local government system from the British while the concept of local government in England spans back to Anglo-Saxon England (700-1066 AD). The local government system in Pakistan has been reformed successively by governments in order to assess people participation.
Pakistan has a poor track record of democracy with long periods of military rule. The military always established the local governments, first in 1959, second in 1979 and last in 2000-2001, under the Devolution Plan 2000 of the military dictator, Gen Musharraf.
The provinces administered the districts & tehsils through the bureaucracy in the two local government systems of 1959 and 1979 under military rulers; however, the later system was the combination of political and administrative authority.
Successive democratic government have always tried to implement local government systems. In 1971, the democratic government led by Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto passed Basic Democracies Order 1959 and Municipal Administration Ordinance 1960 which were abolished under Martial Law Order No 24. Similarly Local Government Ordinances were passed by all provincial governments in 1972.
Now, the government has restored the commissionerate system and local Government Ordinance of 1979. Terrorists were playing havoc with Karachiites for a long time. It is hoped that revival of Local Government System in Sindh will eradicate nefarious aims of the terrorists and the elements who want to destabilise Pakistan.
HAFIZ MUHAMAMD IRFAN
Islamabad