Daily Times

KARACHI: The PTI has joined the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) in opposing a bill to modify the Sindh Local Government Act that was just passed by the Sindh Assembly.

The PSP had contested the same revisions to the law a few days before, claiming that they violated numerous provisions of the Constitution.

PTI MPAs Haleem Adil Sheikh and Khurram Sher Zaman submitted a petition in the Sindh High Court (SHC) Friday saying that the amendments made to the Sindh Local Government Act 2013 (SLGA 2013) were against the spirit of the Constitution, especially its Article 140-A.

The PTI leaders alleged in the petition that the move was an attempt by the Sindh government to grab power from the local government, adding that it was the third-tier of the government.

They further stated in the petition that Karachi’s status had been undermined in the bill as the city was brought to the level of an ordinary city which, otherwise, was a jewel in the crown of Sindh as it was generating more than 80% of the total revenue of the province.

Zaman and Sheikh stated that by making the amendments to the bill, the Sindh government has taken absolute control over the province. They submitted that the Schedule-II, part-1 sub-clause 5, 12 and 13 have been omitted from the SLGA 2013, which were related to medical colleges, hospitals, milk supply schemes, control of land owned by the metropolitan corporation and removal of encroachments, which clearly showed that the respondents had committed a violation of the fundamental rights of Karachiites.

The PTI lawmakers alleged further that the provincial government wanted to steal the right of issuing death, marriage and birth certificates from local bodies. They added that the Sindh government also wanted to snatch their right to controlling infectious diseases and take decisions related to education.

The petitioners said that amendments to the bill were indicative of the Sindh government’s moves to usurp the rights of the people of Sindh, which were guaranteed in the Constitution.

The PTI leaders submitted that the provincial government also made amendments in the procedure of electing mayors and deputy mayors, changing the show of hands with secret balloting. They said secret balloting had always been used for horse-trading or to change the result in favour of a particular candidate.

The petitioners stated that a show of hands in a joint session of the municipal council was required for the election of the mayor and deputy mayor. They claimed that the challenged bill violated the Constitution’s articles 7, 8, 32, and 140-A.

The SHC was asked to declare the amendment bill unlawful because it violated the Constitution’s dictums in articles 7, 8, 32, and 140-A.