Opposition parties in Sindh Assembly while declining negotiations on Sindh Local Government Amendment Bill 2021 on Monday said that consultation regarding LG system was only possible if Sindh government withdrew the authoritarian amendments. The opposition said the Sindh Local Government Act 2013 and recent amendments are unconstitutional and in violation of law of land and human rights and all the opposition parties will stage protest against it across the province.
Leader of the opposition in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh made the announcement while addressing a joint press conference along with parliamentary leaders of Mutahida Qoumi Movement-Pakistan, Grand Democratic Alliance and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Bilal Gaffar here at Sindh Assembly Building.
Haleem Adil said that all the opposition parties consider government’s informal offer for talks meaningless as the opposition should have been consulted before introducing the bill in the Assembly. “All opposition parties have consulted on the amendment bill and agreed that the black law had deprived local governments of the already limited powers,” he stated. The opposition leader said that they have conveyed their concerns to the Governor of Sindh Imran Ismail in this regard and have informed him that the bill was passed in an illegal, unconstitutional and non-parliamentary manner.
“The PPP knew that it cannot win the next elections by vote that is why they wanted to win through notes,” he added.
“We also did not accept the Local Government Act 2013 which deprived LG bodies of Sindh especially Karachi of their powers”, he said, adding that now PPP had introduced more amendments those were contravention of articles 7, 8, 32 and 140-A. Haleem said that the amendments enabled anyone to become mayor and chairman even if he was unable to win from his union council while the bill also lacks tenure of elected members and chairmen or mayor as well as arrangement for interim period.
