Changes in LG system: PPP-MQM agree once again

Draft bill to be finalised on Nov 25.

KARACHI: In another make-believe exercise, the leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement once again claimed on Monday that they have reached an agreement on changes to the local government system which will soon be incorporated into a draft bill for presentation before the Sindh Assembly.

Talking to the media after a meeting of representatives of both coalition partners, minister Pir Mazharul Haq said that they have agreed to meet on a day-to-day basis to finalise the draft law. “It was a very fruitful meeting today and we will exchange drafts on November 23 before finalising them at a meeting on November 25,” he said, adding that after an agreement is reached on the draft bill a special session of the Sindh Assembly would be convened to pass it into a law.

But Sindh law minister, Ayaz Soomro, had a different story to relate. Talking to the media after the assembly session, he said that it would take two to two and a half months to finalise the draft.

He said that they have been holding regular meetings with their coalition partners, but input from other coalition partners, including the Pakistan Muslim League-F, Pakistan Muslim League-Q, Awami National Party and National People’s Party is needed. “We are serious about bringing a new system, but it will take a little bit of time,” he said.

Referring to the commissionerate system, Soomro said that it has come to stay. The Sindh Assembly had passed a law to revive this. It has now become an act and cannot be rolled back, he added.

The meeting on Monday was held at the office of Pir Mazharul Haq soon after the session concluded and it was attended by Syed Sardar Ahmed, Kanwar Naveed Jameel from the MQM, while Soomro, Haq and Rafique Engineer represented the PPP.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2011.