Administrative offices restored in Sindh, ANP walks out of NA session
The decision was taken during a meeting headed by Sindh Local Bodies Minister Agha Siraj Durrani.
Durrani ordered the dissolution of Karachi Municipal Corporation and district municipal corporations after the restoration of the local government ordinance.
Lala Fazlur Rehman has taken charge as administrator of Karachi.
The decision to restore seized accounts at city, district, town and tehsil level was also taken during the meeting.
The local bodies minister also directed all District Coordination Officers (DCO) of the province to hand over all related assets to town municipal administrations.
‘PPP considers commissionerate better than local government’
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) considers the commissionerate system better than the local government system.
Speaking to the media in Karachi, Memon said a dual administration system in Sindh was a technical mistake.
He said amendments will be made to the recently restored Local Government System 2001 and its title could also be changed if need be.
The information minister further said the PPP does not believe in dividing Sindh and restoration of the local government system was in line with the PPP’s reconciliation policy.
Memon said PPP respected the protests by nationalist parties, but said they must consider ground realities as well.
ANP walks out of National Assembly session
MNAs of the Awami National Party (ANP) walked out of the National Assembly session to protest the restoration of local bodies system in Sindh.
ANP lawmakers Bushra Gohar, Jamila Gilani and Pervez Khan Advocate stated such “midnight ordinances” were creating conflicts among the masses in Karachi.
The ANP leaders said their party was not taken on board before the decision for the restoration of the local bodies system was taken. They said the ANP wanted peace but it was being dragged into the war.
PPP MNA calls for Gilani’s resignation
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA Nasir Ali Shah demanded resignation of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani over corruption allegations against his son.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, he said the Prime Minister should resign on moral grounds as he has failed to resolve the crisis the country is going through.
He said law and order situation in Karachi is worsening each day and national crisis such as inflation and electricity shortage had not been dealt with accordingly.
Shah added that bad governance, and “illegal activities” of the prime minister's son have brought a bad name to the party.
He also demanded the prime minister separate himself from the party.
‘5,000 people involved in Karachi target killings’
PPP MNA Sardar Nabeel Gabol claimed he can name people who are involved in target killings in Karachi and possess illegal weapons.
Gabol, during the national assembly session, said he can name at least 5,000 people involved in target killings if Interior Minister Rehman Malik is ready to take action against them.
He stated that the federal government is not doing enough to restore peace in the city.
Gabol said the leadership had information regarding those responsible for the unrest in Karachi and demanded action against them.
COMMENTS (9)
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@Mohammad Ali Siddiqui, Agreed bureaucrats need better training. But under LG system they did become more responsive in Karachi. The LG system modernizes role of bureaucrats which some of the older bureaucrats do not understand. It makes it closer to what the role is in UK as well.You must keep in mind there were bureaucrats who liked the Karachi system. I suspect these were the younger ones. @Ali Ahmed. LG system is closer to what British had until Thatcher arrived and regressed system. They are still paying the price, But, you must remember the British changed their system in late 1800s by adopting features of the French system. This was because they realized their system wasn't working any longer. As I have mentioned in other posts, all of Europe and many countries outside Europe now use local government structures of a type first implemented in France. These systems are best described as integrated local systems. There has been tremendous evolution since these forms were first implemented primarily because of demographic changes. The biggest developments have been between the 1950s-1980s and from 1980s onwards. In Asia, China and South Korea are the biggest appliers;but they use the SEA variant. LG system reflects the French variant.
@Seher Siddiqui:
Well then I suppose its better that the weapons rest with the MQM then rather than the others.
I believe this is the right step towards right direction. I have a question from those who are in favour of commissionerate system. Does Great Britain still use commissionerate system? The answer to the question should be enough to get rid off this rotten, failed colonial system. Also please compare how close the current Great Britain's system is with Local Government System restored in Sindh.
Sindh Government should start using PLGCs for the purpose for which they were implemented and look into adding two more roles that would support municipal bond issuance. To check out how look at the North Carolina Local Government Commission. It has made the weak strong. They use it properly Govt can reduce reliance on World Bank and other multilateral loans!
Dear Sajida:
Thank you very much for your comments on my comments.
The basic fault lies with Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) and the Provincial Public Service Commissions in the provinces where the bureaucrats are taught various courses and given outdated trainings.
The bureaucrats of Pakistan whether serving as Federal Government Servants or Provincial Governments Servants, they are there to make hurdles to keep the files rolling from one table to another and they never try to solve the problems of the masses, keeping in view of the fact that Pakistan should be taken into 21st century.
On the other hand, people elect legislators on the basis of zat and baradari and not on the basis of competency.
Since independence had the bureaucrats and the legislators have worked hand in hand and after 64 years most of the problems of the common man would have been solved.
Unfortunately, neither the legislators, nor the bureaucrats want to solve the problems of the masses but their ultimate goal remains how to accumulate illegal wealth. This is Pakistan where problems of a common man will never be solved but will increase with the passage of time.
@Mohammad Ali Siddiqui you say "leaders do not know how to run the government affairs." Very true. It is at local governance level where they can get training, which they have denied themselves! It is also fault of the British who when they implemented system did it for expediency and not for interests of governed. The mindset was extractive not of service. Keep in mind the systems they implemented where they themselves resided in India were different. Consider who was selected to govern first urban government in Madras in 1688! The first mayor was chosen in that year as well. So restoration of Commissionerate system not only demonstrates lack of self respect;but, also lack of historical knowledge. ANP has demonstrated it is not acting in interests of the Pakhtuns, whether in home province or in Karachi. I hope Pakhtuns wise up and get themselves a better representative.
Trust me, the apathy,incompetency of various sections our society will take us nowhere, no matter what system we follow Nazims or Commissioners. The person behind the gun has a great role. Best weapons in the hands of mediocre people will always miss the target.