Karachi won’t beg for its rights from Sindh CM: Asad

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said on Sunday that Karachi, the capital of Sindh and Pakistan's financial engine, will not "beg" for its rights from Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

Addressing the “All Stakeholders Conference Sindh”, hosted by Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI) in Karachi, he said that the voice of the people living in the port city should also be heard.

"We will raise our voice at every forum for the solution to Karachi's problems," he said.

Asad Umar said the federal government was even willing to sit with the Sindh government to resolve the problems of the province.

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The federal minister said that the system of local government should be fully empowered and the government is going to announce an empowered local government system in Islamabad and Punjab soon.

He said that the Sindh Local Government Act 2013 was needed to be amended as its provisions were in contravention to the Constitution.

Lashing out at CM Sindh, he said that Murad Ali Shah had promised to devolve powers to the lower tier but he has not fulfilled the promise. "Need of the hour is that important decisions are taken by Sindh," he added.

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Asad said that empowering the provinces alone will not solve the problems unless the powers are given to the lower levels. "PTI leadership is ready to sit with the Sindh government to resolve the problems of the province," the minister said.

He said that the problems of the cities of Pakistan will not be resolved until the local governments are empowered, adding that even the Constitution says that democracy is incomplete without local bodies.