THOUSANDS of people at a [recent] PML-F public meeting in Hyderabad rejected the new local bodies [law]. Pir Pagara, while addressing the public meeting, said his father had formed an alliance with the PPP … but the attitude of the ruling party was not something to be appreciated.

[He said the PPP] did not take [his party] into confidence…. He said when the PPP had a majority and mandate in the province, why were they under pressure to [promulgate] such a law….

This is for the first time [so many people] … gathered against a law passed by the PPP. Other opponents of the PPP had been able to muster gatherings of only a few thousand people. The PPP … held a public meeting in Hyderabad a [while] back to give the impression that the people of Sindh … support this bill. That gathering did not yield major results.

On the contrary the … PPP meeting left a negative impression as the chief minister and some other ministers used derogatory language against opponents of the law…. On the other hand, in the PML-F public meeting the attendance was high and civilised language was used.

The opposition which the government is facing today is a result of its stubborn [attitude]. If the government had taken into consideration the aspirations of the people and had consulted its allies … it would not have faced this difficult situation.

What was the compulsion for it not to consult the people and promulgate a controversial ordinance [late at] night?... It is regrettable the government did not give due consideration to these protests….

The [PML-F’s] Hyderabad public meeting is enough to open the eyes of the rulers. If they reject the aspirations of the people … and continue with stubborn [attitudes] they will have to bear the brunt in the next elections….—(Dec 15)

Selected and translated by Sohail Sangi.