KARACHI - Muttahida Qaumi Movement held a protest demonstration against the passage of Sindh Local Government Amendment bill in Karachi on Sunday.
A large number of MQM activists, holding placards, banners and party flags, gathered outside Press Club to protest the passage of SLGA bill, and called it a “black law”.
In their addresses, MQM leaders stated Pakistan People’s Party-led government in Sindh had tried to divide the province by passing the controversial SLGA bill through the provincial assembly. They said PPP wanted to snatch MQM’s mandate.
MQM leaders, in an indirect reference to PPP leaders, said they were hatching a 1971 resurrection-like conspiracy where leaders raised the slogan of “idhar hum, idhar tum”.
MQM leaders – Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Haider Abbas Rizvi, Dr Saghir Ahmed and Opposition Leader in Sindh Assembly Faisal Sabzwari – claimed the ruling party had lost its mandate across the country, notably in Sindh.
“If the ordinance is not cancelled, the people of Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Nawabshah would take to streets,” MQM’s Siddqui warned. He said his party did not want bifurcation of Sindh province, and would fight for the rights of the people.
MQM’s Haider Rizvi called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to order a fresh census in Sindh under supervision of military, arguing that urban centres were more populated than rural areas. He also said the PPP government had empowered landlords in a bid to secure the mandate.
Terming the SLGA bill was contrary to the Constitution, MQM’s Faisal Sabzwari said PPP government had imposed the black law and his party would not tolerate this conspiracy to divide the province. In an indirect manner, he asked PPP if it had the majority it did not mean that it should adopt an anti-people behavior, and warned that the people of Sindh had stood up against injustices.
He added that these amendments were not only against MQM but against all the political rivals of PPP.
Pointing out poor performance of Sindh government, Sabzwari said poor condition of municipality departments in urban centres and various districts of Sindh proved provincial government’s failure. “PPP had secured three Karachi constituencies, and was now dreaming of imposing its mayor on Karachi. Mayor will only be chosen by the voters and no fake mandate would be accepted,” he went on to say.
He said nationalist parties had staged protest against Sindh Local Bodies, Act, 2012 but now that had vanished from the screen when the provincial government had made a real attempt to bifurcate the province through the passage of SLGA bill.
He said MQM would continue its struggle for the masses, and would not allow anyone drive a wedge. MQM’s Izharul Hassan said, “MQM categorically rejects the bill which is in fact an attempt to crush the opponents. PPP does not want distribution of power at the grass-root level which confirms that they are dishonesty. He also said MQM had raised the issue with the courts, but to no avail.
Speaking on the occasion, PML-N leader Abdul Razzaq Raheemo said his party supported MQM’s protest against the bill. He said the bill indicated that PPP wanted to take advantage the LB polls.
Rejecting the bill and delimitations in Sindh, he said the opposition parties were untied against illegal practices of PPP government.
Resolutions were also passed against the SLGA bill and in favour of a census.