MQM chief Altaf Hussain. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Monday rejected the local government bill that was passed by the Sindh Assembly earlier in the day.
In his telephonic address to the people in Karachi and Mirpurkhas, he said that such a system exists nowhere in Pakistan except for Sindh.
Lamenting at the fact that it was approved so quickly, he said, "I reject the Pakistan People Party (PPP) imposed local government bill."
He said that PPP wanted to create rifts between Sindhi and non-Sindhi people in the province but added that under the banner of MQM, people in Sindh were united, no matter who they were.
Amidst chants of "Altaf, Altaf" from the members, he said that PPP's attempt to create differences will be foiled by the MQM.
"The downfall of PPP's government has just begun," MQM chief claimed, asserting that the ruling party was just encouraging a system of hatred.
Altaf, who has recently resumed his public addresses after June’s gathering where he had hit out at the British government, said on Monday that by bringing in the current law, the PPP has enforced British Raj in the province.
“Creating differences amongst people is nothing new for the PPP. Its conspiracies go back to 1973,” said Altaf.
The Sindh Assembly had earlier in the day approved the much-debated bill on Sindh Local Government Law, 2013.
MQM members had also walked out of the assembly in protest but said that the party would still take part in the local body elections.
British Police Investigation
Regarding the British Police investigation against him in the murder case of Dr Imran Farooq, inciting violence, and money laundering, the MQM chief told his workers not to worry.
“If I get arrested because of false cases leveled against me, the workers should not be upset, and the party’s struggle for truth and justice should carry on. I want get my head cut off but I won’t bow down to such conspiracies and fake allegations against me.”
The MQM leader appealed to all communities to support the party against the new local governance system, and bring back the one which they had prepared last year.
COMMENTS (23)
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Corruption party has destroyed Karachi during its now more than five years reign of mass, gross corruption and incompetence and would continue to do so until we get rid of this corrupt sind government's oppressive rule of Karachi which is a place to make easy money for the waderas and their Liyari gang force
Regardless of if Altaf Hussain be arrested of not but We hope UK Government may stop him from delivering speeches, which are leading to the killing of innocent civilians in karachi.
He should also realize that no one really cares what you accepts or don't accepts. No one wants to listen to a violent, extortionist and barbaric leader telling us what is better for Sind and what's not
It simply reveals the racism and high level of incompetency of PPP.By the Musharraf's City government system, every poor individual has acceess to the local government representative and this hurts PPP. and Qaum parast also dont like this...I request the people of Sindh, please awake and identify the real enemy of Sind i.e PPP and Qaum parast
@Saima: If Karachi had an independent city government led by people like Mustafa Kamal the city would have been competing with Singapore and Hong Kong and providing even greater employment opportunities to people from other areas including interior sindh HOWEVER the greed of waderas of corruption party had turned this city into a living nightmare of garbage, destroyed civic amenities, land mafia rule, Liyari Criminal Rule. It seems the waderas of corruption in their blind greed for loot money are pushing the people of Karachi to demand independence from this corrupt and oppressive rule of criminal waderas
This may lead to the dismemberment of urban Sindh from Pakistan......like 1971.
@hina @ london: Born, aised in Karachi and to be buried in Karachi do care, urban sindh is completely disregarded which is a shame, all political parties should raise voice against the hegemony of PPP
@H Chaudhry: No one in Karachi blaim Punjab but look at Balochistan, and other part of Pakistan where people to some degree hate punjab elite in a similar way as Awami league of Bangal............ Punjab elite need to do something to improve it imiage
Stop Dividing Sindh............ We reject LG Ordinance.
We Reject Local Government Ordinance 2013 By PPP Stop Dividing People Of Sindh .. Urban Sindh Pay 95% Of The Revenue Stop... Pushing Us To The Walls ...
Munafiq qawmi movement Time to break this manoveing movement
WHO CARES!!!!
H Chaudhry: Nobody has blamed Punjab yet but the idea of non-party based local bodies election has in fact originated from Punjab. If one cannot accept the ground realities, let us leave this matter to the people of Sindh to resolve.
After a long time, a reasoned call from MQM. It was time that MQM returned to its core competency of urban issues which is is what gave rise to the explosive growth of mqm in the 80s and the 90s. It was wrong of mqm to have otten involved in national politics and national issues till the time they had model examples of Sindh's urban areas. A fully empowered local government system, conforming o international practices of good local self givernment, is a ine qua non for this purpose. It is heartening that despite all provocations by petty, narrow minded sindhi nationalists and the blind sided ppp government, mqm has left no stone unturned to convince and demonstrate to the ethnic sindhis that it stands for the unity of sindh. It is for sindhis to realize to realize that developed urban areas can only be a source of inspiration for the rural areas which have been ruined to death during the last few decades.
MQM should not let this opportunity dither away on the altar of expediency. It should publish the verion of the bill it supports and mobilize piblic opinion on the same. Let PTI and others who claim to be the alternate reality in urban areas come forward and challenge the MQM version of the bill. If such forces extend their opposition of mqm to the opposition of a bill favoring strong and adequate local government for sindhs urbsn areas, then obviouly they are not sincere and their duplicity would be exposed. As it is PTI's lack of vocal activism for this cause is highly shameful.
Mir: Democracy does not make any wrong thing right. Majority cannot supress minority for too long. Otherwise, Pakistan and many countries would not have been created. In any case, democracy allows any person to voice his concerns, acceptance or rejection and requires others to respect any opinion whether he agrees or disagrees.
Khan/Tanoli: Don't forget all leaders need rest and disappears from the arena whether it is Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif or Asif Zardari, who most of the time disappear for the wrong reason and at the time when nation needs them.
Agreed. What kind of local govt system has no revenue board, water/sewerage board, land development board, traffic police and city police not under its control?
Those are the basis for a city government in the modern world. It seems like Sindh simply doesn't wanna progress!
PPP always wants to conquer Karachi even though it barely has 5% of the city's vote bank. They always use Sindh bureaucracy but now they're also using drug-war and extortion gangsters. I hope their nefarious designs fail
PPP's downfall is needed for Pakistan to progress. With him on this
1 2 3 and lets blame Punjab again for this too!
Peer sahib need some rest in quiet neighborhood for little long time....
I had nearly forgotten about this dude. Where had he been all these days?
Altaf Bahia we have democracy in the country,majority rules . Your except acne does not make any difference .
people of urban sindh will not accept the local bodies bill passed by rural politician by passing representative of urban area...people of urban areas has the right to demand division of sindh officially
Agreed 100%. This system introduced by PPP is a farce and robbing Karachi from true representation and development. Cynics should look into the real local government between 2006 - 2008 (practically), when local bodies had close-to-a-good level of autonomy under mayor Mustafa Kamal. The scale of development at that time was unprecedented, recognized worldwide and accepted even by folks who did not like MQM.
*MQM haters will of course deviate from the actual matter (local government) and will instead try to focus on the British case against Altaf Hussain, which is still under investigation.
*PTI lovers: where is Arif Alvi now? Being from Karachi, should'nt he be saying anything, or is he happy in the Islamabad air, making new friends?