KARACHI - The writers, poets, intellectuals, artists, civil society members, journalists and political activists on Saturday staged a protest against controversial Sindh People's Local Government Act 2012, describing it a dual administrative system and first step taken by the PPP government to divide the province.

A large number of the literary personalities, civil society and political activists gathered here outside the Karachi Press Club, carrying banners and placards, prescribed with slogans against the controversial local government law.
The participants included famous poetess Fehmida Riaz, Sindhi writers Agha Salim, Jami Chandio, Aijaz Mangi, Women Action Forum leaders Professor Amar Sindhu, Arfana Malah, Haseen Musrat Shah, Rozina Junejo and Rukhsana Preet, writers and civil society activists Zulfiqar Halepoto, Inam Sheikh, Musthaque Mirani and others. Addressing the protest demonstration, they alleged the enforcing dual administrative system through local government law was aimed to create a state within a state in the province.
Sindh Assembly members, PML-F leaders Nusrat Sahar Abbasi and Syeda Marvi Rashdi also participated in the protest and said that the ordinance was illegal and exposed PPP of betraying Sindh and its people.
Representatives of other political parties including former minister and PML-N leader Muhammad Ismail Rahu, Haji Shafi Jamote and PML-N’s ladies wing provincial president Sorath Thebo, Awami Jamhori Party’s Hareef Chandio and others also participated. Wearing black armbands as mark of protest, the writers, poets, intellectuals, artists, and civil society members in their joint declaration strongly condemned the government of Sindh for unlawfully passing SPLGO-2012 in the Sindh Assembly.  They termed the local government law as illegal, which exposes PPP of betraying Sindh and Sindhi people.  Rejecting the controversial law, they pointed out that this act has virtually created state within state in Sindh and has encroached the sovereignty of Sindh over its big cities.
They further alleged that the local government law has seeded permanent division and conflicts among different people living in Sindh, adding that the PPP government did not realise that through this act, Sindh has been plunged into chaos, unrest conflicts, making the lives of people of Sindh unbearable.  Coming down hard against the ruling PPP, they said that the PPP government in the name of reconciliation has destroyed the governance, social and economic fabric of Sindh. No peace will return to cities in the presence of the act. This act has given limitless power to mayors and has created big cities as fiefdoms for them. The PPP government was given mandate to curb terrorism, introduce good governance, promote economic development and protect the rights of Sindh and Sindhi people, they said, adding, but it has sold Sindhi people and created the division of Sindh.
‘The new political developments indicate that the PPP government is creating conditions which may destroy peace in Sindh’ the protestors opined and continued that the responsibility squarely rest on the PPP government. Sindhi writers and intellectuals have gathered here to take firm stand against the act, pledging to fight against one-unit.  They announced that they will not only struggle against this new law in Sindh and Pakistan but all over the world, even they will raise voice against the black act in international forums including the UN.
The protesting intelligentsia of the Sindh province added that people of Sindh feel that this black act will not only lead to the division of Sindh, but specially so-called metropolitan corporations in Karachi, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas will facilitate illegal migration from India, converting Sindhis in a minority in their in own land, vowing that people of Sindh will never allow and will prefer to die. They maintained that black law of local government will support terrorism, target killing, ethnic cleansing of Sindhi’s in Karachi, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas. It will promote all types of organized crimes in these cities. The appealed the people of Sindh to be united against this black Act, demanding of the PPP Government to withdraw the black act and leave to next government to introduce local government bill by observing all democratic norms including consultation with the all stakeholders.
‘We do not have trust on the PPP government and it has already betrayed the Sindhi nation in all fronts’, the protesting writers and political activists declared and appealed the expatriate Sindhis to help your nation and protest allover the world against this Act. They also appealed to all enlightened Sindhis to protest against this draconian Act which PPP government has passed illegally, violating all democratic norms to destroy Sindhi nation.