The MQM announced that it will oppose the commissionerate system via challenging it in court.
MQM leader Farooq Sattar said the implementation of the commissionerate system is a reflection of a dictatorial mindset. “The system is an attempt to enslave the people of Sindh,” Sattar said.
While talking to the media after the Rabita Committee meeting, Sattar said democratic countries have local government system in place because it provides rights to citizens at the grass root level.
“Implementation of the commissionerate system will take away this right and it is a negation of democratic values,” Sattar said.
Sattar said the system of local government is the best way to solve problems because the people with authority know the area and its problems.
He said the commissionerate system strengthens the feudal elite who has ruled Pakistan for last 64 years. The system supports the status quo and ad hocism.
The commissionerate system will marginalize the local government system and make it inefficient, the MQM leader said.
The MQM will move the Sindh High Court for the restoration of Sindh Local Government Ordinance 2001.
The Sindh government issued three ordinances on July 10, restoring the local government system put in place by the administration of former President Ziaul Haq and the police system put in place by the first Viceroy of India, Lord Charles Canning.
PPP will not tolerate political pressure
Senior provincial minister Pir Mazhar ul Haq said that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) wanted to take MQM into confidence before reinstating the commissionerate system but the latter did not respond.
He said that PPP will no more be tolerating any political pressure.
Pir Mazharul Haq was talking to reporters after his meeting with the ANP leader Shahi Syed at Mardan House in Karachi.
Mazhar said that PPP, ANP and PMLN-F agreed on revival of commisionerate system.
Talking on this occasion, ANP leader Shahi Syed said that the restoration of commissionerate system was his party's long standing demand.
He hoped that its restoration would play an effective role in maintaining peace in the city.
Sindh divisions
After restoration of the commissionerate system in Sindh, the province witnessed further significant changes.
Sindh is now divided into five divisions including Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpur Khas and Larkana. The Sindh Revenue department issued a notification in this regard and forwarded a draft to the chief minister.
Every division is further divided into districts.
Karachi constitutes of 5 districts, 8 in Hyderabad, 4 in Mirpur Khas - and 5 each in Larkana and Sukkur.
A commissioner is appointed in each division while deputy and assistant commissioners will report to their respective division heads.
Former president General retired Pervez Musharraf suspended the commissionerate system in 2001.
However, the ruling government - under the 18th Amendment – gave the powers of restoring the commissionerate system directly to the provinces.
Commissionerate system in Punjab
The Punjab government decided to submit an ordinance to the governor for cancelation of the Local Government Ordinance 2001 and Police Order 2002.
According to the sources, the ordinance will soon be sent to the Punjab governor for approval.
After the ordinance is approved, the Local Government Order 1979 and Police Order 1861 will be restored.
After the ordinance’s approval, corporation system in cities and district councils in rural areas will be restored.
The ward system in cities and union councils in rural areas will also be established.
Moreover, titles of commissioner, deputy commissioner, mayor, deputy mayor, chairman district council and vice chairman will also be restored.
COMMENTS (17)
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Whatever the system is, we all must be honest with our society. May Allah have blessing on the entire Pakistan. There is an old saying your rulers will be according to your own behaviour and attitude. So if we want the govt. to be honest, firstly the masses(people) must be honest, kind hearted, and have tolerance.
May Allah bless Pakistan..
I welcome the restoration of Commissionerate system. Many of those who criticise the commissionerate dont even know what is commissionerate. The office of commissioner is just a bridge between Provincial govt and Distt. administration, and after abolition of this office, it had become extremely difficult for provincial govt. to coordinate among the districts (more than 15 in no.). Moreover, it is also ridiculous that if an issue is not resolved in any far flung distt. like Ghotki or Dherki etc, the next forum is the provincial govt in the absence of commissioner office which made provincial govt too overburdened to cope with its own responsibilities. As far as local bodies are concerned, they are in place for development works, only the administrative powers are taken back from political junta, because: 1. Massive abuse of authority in the form of political victimization is reported all over the country by distt nazims 2. Distt Nazims (except a few) being unaware of laws/rules violated them frequently and now it has become impossible to make them accountable (many of them are even outside the country). 3. Most of the Distt Nazims used to be found absent from the station in case of emergency n in the absence of cenmtral figure, the situation used to be more grim......... and etc etc So, i think, we should impartially analyse the situation n then comment after due deliberations.
The Constitution of Pakistan
Fundamental Rights and Principles of Policy CHAPTER 2. PRINCIPLES OF POLICY
Promotion of local Government institutions. The State shall encourage local Government institutions composed of elected representatives of the areas concerned and in such institutions special representation will be given to peasants, workers and women.@"positive pakistani": You got to be kidding. JI will join anyone who is against MQM. In 1970 elections, JI had issued a fatwa of kufr against Bhutto. ANP was supposed to be a party of godless. JUP a part of mushriks and biddaties. JUI a party of illiterate Mullahs. Regardless of national level politics, JI joined all of the above mentioned parties in Karachi. While single out JI? ANP and Taliban might be killing each other in KP Province, but in Karachi they both united against MQM. In a nut shell, ANP, Taliban, PPP, PML-N, PML-Q, JI, JUP, JUI, TI are like wolves who are salvating on the golden goose named Karachi, or like vultures who wait for an army action against MQM, so they can enter and plunder it.
It may look quite absurd....but on this point even JI (Jamaat-e-Islami) should also join hands with MQM, as they also were the beneficiaries of the system....and they also shared the opinion to have such a system!.......but I don't expect them to do that, as they always have raised their voices on non-issues ..or...have mistimed their voices on issue....
JI...hurry up!!
Common people should raise their voices against this move......few months ago when this issue was being discussed in the context of "some possible improvements" in the system...it was looking fair to put and ear to it and to give it a thought.......but taking it back to square-one.....is like doing absolutely nothing about the improvements rather demoting to 10 step back.....
This move is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!!!.......and please don't consider my voice as some 'politically charged' one.....it is the voice of a common man!
PPP has started to show their true face......
no the local government system had only two tiers the owners,the political representatives .it was flawed .the provincial government should have made changes by incorporating the bureaucracy.this way the there would be three tiers of stakeholders to oversee each other.the owners need regular and constant public servants to do the work the elected representatives come and go and the past elections have shown the break down in services and work when ever there is a breakdown between political parties and during elections.for example development work has been upheld in many places ,if there was a third tier it would continue .no body is sincere to the owners ,and we are so stupid that we have allowed our public servants and elected representatives to take over our cities and country .it is about time we the owners took responsibility of our cities and country and put these servants in their place . they waste time which you and me pay for .local government is only possible if you and me take part ,it is not democracy if only one actor plays and the others are silent.
What ever is the system, we want peace in Karachi. This time it crossed all boundaries so people are only interested in how to achieve the goal of peaceful co-existence side by side. Secondly all type of demonstration on main M. A. Jinnah road must be banned.
I wonder some journalist should ask 'Niamat Ullah Khan aka Nana-e-Karachi' for his valuable comments on restoration of the Commesionarate System. I hope he will defintely support this restoration only in 'Bughz-e-Muawaiyah'.
The MQM are correct on this one.
It is unfortunate that due to lack of ‘think-tanks’ in the country, government could not improve the system and therefore government has put the country back into the old system which became invalid after the introduction of City Government system during Musharraf’s rule.
The Police has also been put the under century’s old system.
We are back to square one.
May Al-Mighty Allah give vision to the government to know what exactly is happening in Pakistan and how to improve the system in the country?
I wonder that if such things will keep on happening, one never no that Police mighty be put under the system which was prevailing before the Word War-I.
May Al-Mighty Allah save Pakistan.
@Syed Nadir El-Edroos: Murderous rampage doesn't mean its OK to impose colonialism either.
@ Tariq Raheem, can you please name one uneducated/ illeterate Pakistani who has harmed Pakistan. I can give names of more than one million educated Pakistanis who are corrupt, dishonest, untrustworthy and unpatriotic. All those who were boot polishing Gora people were educated, Cambridge and Oxford returned not illeterate poor people. Only educated person can trick to become developed country's citizen and create divisions at his birth place. Uneducated people cannot perform these stunts.
@ Syed Nadir
Blaming MQM for everything that goes wrong in Karachi is very easy but looking at the real cause of mayhem in Karachi is, I suppose, difficult. Particularly when most of those effected were MQMs own members and supporters, and most of those dead were those who voted for MQM
Every common citizen should raise voice for Local Government system as it helps democracy to nourish from Grass root levels, if we allow commisionerate system again, be prepare to welcome another Martial law sooner or later
It clearly shows that colonial system in pakistan is still going on. The people who used to do boot polishing of white men ( Gora Angraiz) have now taken over them. These waderas want to rule people hiding behind the curtain of so called democracy. But I beleive the educated people of karachi and urban sindh will not accept this 200 years old commsinerate system and either look towards suprem court of pakistan or otherwise it leads towards demand of a separate provinc for the educated people. For the uneducated rural people, the commisnarate system is OK because these people are do not consider them as human being.
Murderous rampage doesnt meet the basic rights of citizens either.