While the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was rejoicing the prospects of forming local-level governments with the Sindh People’s Local Government Ordinance (SPLGO) 2012, insiders in the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) say the MQM leadership had been duped by the top PPP leadership over the issue. Pakistan Today has learnt that the PPP leadership had promulgated the SPLGO 2012 as a time buying tactic, as it had asked smaller nationalist and political parties to keep opposing the ordinance publicly to apparently force the government to call in a review, subsequently leading to amendments in the ordinance per the “aspirations of the people of Sindh” and accommodating views of all party leaders who wanted amendments of their own to the ordinance. This way, the PPP would have appeased the MQM by promulgating an ordinance per their desire, but it would have eventually amended the ordinance in face of strict public opposition and pleased other players as well – a win-win situation for the ruling party.
After hectic consultation between the PPP and the MQM, a breakthrough on the local government system was achieved on September 13 with issuance of the SPLGO. According to reports, the notification had said that of 23 districts in Sindh, five –Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur and Larkana – were to be given the status of metropolitan corporations where mayors and deputy mayors would be appointed, while magistracy was to be implemented in the remaining 18 districts. The MQM has a strong presence in all five districts planned to be put under LGs.
A well-placed source in the PPP said resignations by ministers of PML-Q, ANP, PML-F and NPP were tendered under an understanding with the Presidency to “show” the MQM leadership the ground realities.
“Since the MQM leadership was asking for the moon vis-à-vis the local government system, it was decided to build political pressure with resignations from other coalition partners who are as important as the MQM for the PPP,” the PPP leader said, requesting anonymity.
The source added that this was the reason that despite resignations by the ministers of ANP, PML-F, PML-Q and other parties, no split had occurred in the coalition governments in any other province or at the Center.
However, MQM leader Raza Haroon seemed quite upbeat about the future of the SPLGO 2012. “We will go by the official statements of the PPP leadership. We are sure that the PPP would stand by its commitment and the Sindh chief minister has also made a public statement in this regard,” he added. On the other hand, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and PPP’s Women Wing President Faryal Talpur on Sunday took the local leadership into confidence over the SPLGO 2012, directing the party’s district chapters to hold seminars and meetings to muster support for the new law. However, their claims were challenged by PPP’s former deputy speaker and MNA Syed Zafar Ali Shah and MNA Nawab Yousaf Talpur. “Not a single party MNA has been taken into confidence nor their reservations over the local government ordinance been removed. This ordinance has already been rejected by the party’s leaders as well as the people of Sindh,” Shah told Pakistan Today. He said the MQM, with its strength in the Sindh and National Assemblies, was trying to bully the PPP over the LG system and it had been making efforts to do so since 2008. “They (MQM) have been making efforts to revive Musharraf’s local bodies system since 2008. Last year, they had also got released an ordinance but the people of Sindh had reacted and refused to make compromise on their rights,” he said. Shah added that initially, no draft of the SPLGO had been made public and later various drafts were released to muddle the matter. He said until now, there was no official draft of the ordinance to debate the matter, let alone removing reservations of the PPP leaders over the ordinance.
The writer of this report has tried to help MQM. Sindhis felt betrayed by the promulgation of the ordinance which literally meant handing back city of Karachi to foul mouthed Mustafa Kamal to form his fiefdom. The city of Karachi is literally being separated from Sindh and unfortunately Asif Zardari had no qualms to accept MQM's demands.
The only reason for Karachi not reaching its full potential as an international cosmopolitan city of Pakistan is that it's indirectly governed by the backward and corrupt bunch of PPP feudals. No where in the world you will find such a huge, complex, sophisticated and educated city being dictated and controlled by a group of uneducated waderas who cannot even run, develop or manage their own tiny villages. The middle class of Karachi that is composed of different ethnicity cannot take this city to the next level because of the hindrances created by the evil feudal and tribal nexus of PPP and ANP. PPP and ANP are only capable of taking SIndh and Pakistan back to the stone age.
i think local government system is the best for not only sindh but other parts of teh country as well. provided in the case of Sindh matters related to undermining population of non-Urdu speaking people are addressed. In Karachi with a Nazim system the Pukhtoon can have their nazims in areas like Site and Kemari Towns, the Sindhi and Baloch can have their nazims in Bin Qasim, Gadap and Lyari towns. At UC level the Punjabis and other nations can have their own nazims and councillors, so this addressed ethnic issue in an effective manner. I think funding to all UCs and towns should be equal. The problem is PPP and PML-N do not want local government system because Hamza Shahbaz, Captain Safder, Maryam, Bilawal, Faryal and other relatives of PPP and PML-N leaders cannot contest UC nazim polls because they think it is below their political stature. For these seats they have to put up their workers as candidates and these workers, if they show good performance as councillors and nazims, could demand seats in provincial and national assemblies which they just want to reserve to their families and cronies. another issue is that Shahbaz Sharif and Waderas of Sindh love to order to commissioner and the deputy commissioners than to discuss problems with low level elected nazims and councillors. It is this mentality that is stopping them from holding local bodies polls and this blunder of main stream political parties is exploited by dictators who hold local bodies elections. The politicians should learn from the past.
The people of Sindh have rejected the black ordinance SPLGO 2012 promulgated by Governor of Sindh. It’s a completely conspiracy of an organization. Karachi is the capital and business hub of Sindh so that people of Sindh will never let them implement dua system in the province. As for as Sindh is concerned, Media has been fully controlled by a terrorist wing in Karachi which only arrange media coverage, statements for a particular party. I am sorry to say that Free Media is not allowed to cover up other parts of Sindh and rallies conducted by Sindhi leaders, politicians, nationalists and other social & civil people due to discrimination and pressurized by a terrorist wing. For God sake, Media should play a pivotal role with honesty across the country without any discrimination. Once Sindh get united and raised for the rights of Sindh, Anti-Sindh will be completely wiped out.
Please request the media to cover the corrupt Sindhi nationalists who have never raised their voices against the oppression and terror of Sindhi Feudals against poor Sindhis. Sindhi nationalists should raise their voices against the illegal prisons where Haris are confined. They should raise their voice against the sick customs of Karo-kari and marriage of girls to Holy Quran. Who is responsible for the high illiteracy levels of rural Sindh? If the Sindhi nationalists would have been sincere in their cause, rural Sindh would have become the most educated and progressive region of Pakistan. The hypocrisy of Sindhi nationalists and PPP stinks. They are the biggest obstruction in the development and progress of Sindh. Change your mindset so that Sindh can progress. Blaming others will never lead you anywhere.
Government of Sindh should take measures and resolve the reservations of people of Sindh over SPLGO 2012. Interim Government is to be settled in November and upcoming elections are to be held in the beginning of the year then why it is needed for Local Government system at the moment in Sindh only.
I would suggest the Government of Sindh to hold Sindh Local Bodies after general elections so that hatred and anger among the people of Sindh could be appeased.
(Karachi, Sindh)
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