KARACHI, Sept 6: The two major parties in Sindh’s ruling coalition, the PPP and the MQM, have finalised a draft law on local government institutions and an ordinance is likely to be issued “shortly”, according to a provincial minister.

Information Minister Sharjeel Memon, who was privy to the discussions at the Chief Minister’s House, told journalists on Thursday night that the new law had been named “People’s Metropolitan Corporation Ordinance 2012”.

“The law is ready for the governor’s signature and Dr Ishratul Ibad will sign it soon,” Mr Memon said.

Sources said the draft law envisaged that five cities in the province — Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana and Mirpurkhas — would have metropolitan corporations, to be headed by mayors. The other districts would have district councils.

According to the sources, it appeared that members of the two parties were under instructions to end their deliberations only after an understanding had been achieved.

The breakthrough came when Governor Ibad and Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah joined the deliberations, the sources said.

They said that PPP’s Pir Mazharul Haq had held discussions on the subject with members of the PML-F, PML-Q and ANP and that their views had been incorporated into the draft law.—Habib Khan Ghori