KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Friday issued notices to provincial authorities on a petition filed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan against the Local Government (Amendment) Act 2021.

A two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh put the chief secretary, local government secretary and other respondents as well as the provincial law officer on notice with direction to file comments till the next hearing.

The bench also directed its office to club the MQM-P petition with an identical petition filed earlier by the Jamaat-i-Islami for a joint hearing on March 17.

Chief secretary, others asked to file comments by March 17

MQM-P deputy convener Kanwar Naveed Jameel, former Karachi mayor Wasim Akhtar and other party leaders moved the SHC stating that the amendments to Sections 4, 13, 14, 15 of the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013 were arbitrary and inconsistent as well as against the election laws, public interest and ultra virus of several provisions of the Constitution.

They stated that the impugned amendments were also ultra virus of the Feb 1 judgement of the Supreme Court on the empowerment of local government in Sindh and emphasised on Article 140-A of the Constitution to set up local government organisations with meaningful authority.

The petitioners said that the provincial government had taken back various primary municipal functions from the local governments during the last two decades while the impugned amendments were also made to further remove the revenue generation opportunities.

They further submitted that the authority of local government regarding medical colleges, teaching hospitals, education and other fundamental functions had also been taken over by the provincial government through the impugned amendments.

They argued that the impugned provisions inexplicably bound the Election Commission of Pakistan to confirm the delimitation exercise that had been taken place around six years ago, which clearly transpired that amendments were made with predetermined mindset to influence the upcoming LG elections.

The counsel for petitioners, Tariq Mansoor, pleaded to declare the impugned amendments unlawful and unconstitutional and also sought implementation of the Feb 1 SC judgement handed down on a petition of the MQM-P seeking empowerment and autonomy for LG institutions in Sindh.

He further asked the court to also declare the delimitation criteria for the upcoming LG poll, mechanism and distribution provision under the SLGA, 2021 as discriminatory and ultra vires of the Constitution.

JI-Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman had also petitioned the SHC last month challenging the SLGA, 2021 stating that the impugned amendments were made only to seize the authority of local governments and further reducing their financial autonomy.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2022