Daily Times

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has demanded fresh elections in the country in the thick of tensions with the federal government over administrative affairs of Karachi.

While addressing a press conference on Friday, former Senate chairman Mian Raza Rabbani and Sindh Minister for Information Saeed Ghani said that after the approval of the 18th Amendment, the provincial autonomy could not be obstructed.

“By approving the 18th Amendment, Parliament had given a clear message that federal units have their own rights,” they added

The leaders highlighted that under clause 2 of the article 149, the federal government had the authority to intervene in a province’s internal matters before the approval of the 18th Amendment. However, with the approval of the 18th Amendment the federal government had no such authority, they clarified. They said that now under Article 149 a provincial government could only be instructed, while practically nothing could be done. Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani said that the Sindh government could resolve all the issues which the federal government wanted to do using Article 149.

Ghani said that an impression being given by the federal government that it wanted to take over the provincial headquarter of Sindh was not welcoming at all.

Raza Rabbani said that the purpose of passing the 18th Amendment was to stop whatever was wrong in the past. He said he would never allow anyone to roll back the 18th Amendment. He said that Pakistan could not afford further instability. For God’s sake do not let the linguistic affairs open out, if its flames spread the whole country would suffer, he added. He said the federal government did not have a two-thirds majority, so it could abolish the 18th Amendment. He said that the main element of the country’s constitution was the parliamentary system which was not easy to be eliminated.

Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani said that the Karachi committee that the Prime Minister had recently constituted must also work under the constitution. He said that efforts were being made to move the country towards the presidential system. Information Minister said that various TV channels showed specific parts of Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s speech under special agenda. Former Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani said that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in his speech provided an analysis of how the leadership of the PPP strengthened the federation and the country even at the cost of their lives. He made it clear that there was no clause in the Charter of Democracy under which it was stated that there would be an agreement with the MQM as well. He said that it was the tradition of PTI government that anyone who raised their voice in this country was hushed. Saeed Ghani said that the people of Sindh would never accept the partition of their province. He said that those who were planning to separate Karachi from Sindh should keep an eye on the regional conditions.