KARACHI: Opposition parties in the Sindh Assembly on Saturday decided to make a joint strategy against the recently passed Sindh Local Government [amendment] Bill 2021 under which masses would be mobilised against the ‘dictatorial law’ on one hand and the apex court would be moved, on the other, in order to challenge the Pakistan Peoples Party’s scheme that ‘violated’ all rules of the Sindh Assembly and bulldozed the bill through the assembly.

The leaders of the opposition parties criticised the PPP provincial government for getting the bill passed from the assembly in ‘violation’ of rules and regulations for approval of a revised bill and vowed to protest against the unconstitutional step of the ruling party.

Addressing a joint press conference in the Sindh Assembly building, Leader of the Opposition in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh, parliamentary leader of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Kunwar Naveed Jameel, Arif Mustafa Jatoi of the Grand Democratic Alliance and other opposition legislators called the proceedings of the Saturday’s session against the defined rules of the Constitution.

‘Sindh govt wants to transfer all local level powers to Sindh Secretariat’

“The PPP has once again proved that they want to impose authoritarian and dictatorial system in Sindh by denying rights and authority to elected representatives at the grassroots level,” said Mr Sheikh.

“The Sindh Local Government Act 2013 is already in contravention of the constitution of Pakistan particularly its Article 140-A that provides for devolution of administrative, financial and political authority to local government while the Sindh government of PPP further usurped limited powers and functions of the third tier of government through the controversial amendments.”

Kunwar Naveed Jamil of MQM-P said that the opposition was left with no option but to take to streets as the Speaker was not allowing them to speak in Sindh Assembly.

The opposition legislators were humiliated and not allowed to discuss issues of public importance on the floor, he added.

“We are already in contact with the masses. No one should remain in any misunderstanding that the people would accept this anti-Sindh law from the PPP. We would mobilise masses and also approach the court to exercise our legal rights,” he warned.

The GDA lawmaker Arif Mustafa Jatoi stated that the PPP wanted centralisation of all powers and was trying to consolidate all authority of local government institutions in the Sindh secretariat.

All the rights and responsibilities of local representatives were being transferred to minister and secretaries through the LG bill, he said.

“The PPP has a history of hypocrisy and double game. They claim and present themselves to people out of Sindh and foreign world as ‘true democrats’. But in Sindh, they are worst then feudal and dictators,” he claimed.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2021