Commissionerate system restored in Sindh

President Asif Ali Zardari directed the Sindh government late on Friday night to urgently revive the commissionerate system in the province, a move which did not go well with his estranged ally, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.
The orders came after a meeting held here at the Presidency to review the situation in Karachi.
The meeting decided that while pursuing the policy of reconciliation with all political forces in the province, the provincial government would urgently revive the commissionerate system and also take steps to make suitable amendments in laws related to the local government system to make the local administration more responsive to the emerging challenges in the city and the province.
It was decided during the meeting that judges would be appointed to the vacant posts of anti-terrorism courts and the prosecution branch would be beefed up to provide an effective legal framework to deal with criminals.
The revival of the commissionerate system in Sindh has been a bone of contention between the ruling PPP and the MQM. With the revival of the old local government system, the commissionerate system would envisage the division of Karachi into four districts as had been done in Hyderabad – an option the MQM has been opposing since early 2008.
MQM OPPOSES
On cue, the MQM announced that it was opposed to the government’s decision to reintroduce the commissionerate system and vowed to resist any bill presented in the Sindh Assembly in this regard, Online news agency reported. MQM provincial leader Raza Haroon told reporters that the MQM would debate the bill upon its tabling in the assembly and adopt legal and constitutional means against it. He said the government had indirectly admitted its failure by calling the army to control the city. To a question, he said the appointment of the home minister was an internal affair of the provincial government, and hoped that peace would be restored to the city newly-appointed Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan’s tenure.
Earlier, the Sindh chief minister and the federal interior minister briefed the meeting on the situation in Karachi and decisions on how to handle the situation in the city were taken in the light of the briefing given by the chief minister, said a statement issued here by Presidential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar.