Delaying tactics

Opposition blasts PPP, MQM-P syndicate for blocking local body polls

No ruling party in Pakistan wants to share resources and powers with the local governments. It became evident by the postponement of the local government elections for the third time.

The Election Commission upon the request from the Sindh government regarding its ‘inability to provide security’ to the election process decided to postpone the elections that were scheduled for October 23. It said that it would hold a meeting after 15 days to review the situation regarding the new date for the LG polls. Whatever the reasons are, it is a fact that the ruling junta who claims to be the champion of democracy is denying elected representation to the people of Sindh, especially the country’s commercial capital and largest city — Karachi.

Reacting to the news, the opposition held the ruling PPP and MQM-P responsible for pressurising the ECP to keep delaying the elections on fears that they might end up as losers. The opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly and a member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Haleem Adil Shaikh while commenting on the situation said, “the political parties in the PDM are running away from the elections as they are scared of the rising popularity of the PTI, and the request for the postponement of the local body elections just underlines the fact that they were faced with imminent defeat”.

Giving his point of view on the current scenario, the PTI parliamentary leader in the Sindh Assembly Khurram Sher Zaman has alleged that MQM-Pakistan has blackmailed its ally PPP, to postpone the local bodies’ elections. They threatened the PPP of parting ways with them, and the ECP drove the last nail in the coffin by rescuing the PDM with their decision, he said. Zaman termed the ECP’s decision of delaying the LG elections as “shameful”.

The Ameer (Head) of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman condemned the ECP’s decision to postpone the polls. “If the Chief Election Commissioner, Sikandar Sultan Raja, cannot exercise his powers under the Section-220 of the Constitution, then he must step down,” Rahman said.

Rahman was of the view that the constitution empowers the chief election commissioner to seek the help of the army or any other institution to hold the elections. “If you cannot discharge your duty, just resign so that some eligible person can take charge in your place,” he added. He said the JI had filed petitions in the High Court as well as the Supreme Court against this delay in polls.

The former Mayor of Karachi and Chairman of Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), Mustafa Kamal, has also expressed his dismay over the delay, saying the PPP did not want the devolution of power and an autonomous mayor of the largest metropolis in the country. He said, “The champions of ‘mohajir’ rights have struck a deal with the rulers of Sindh to deprive the public of their rights.”

A senior leader of the MQM-P, requesting anonymity, said, “a delegation of the party including the Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Faisal Sabzwari, Wasim Akhtar and the Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori met the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to inform him about their grievances about holding local body polls without delimitation.

“The delegation also informed the premier about the non-implementation of the agreement signed between the PML-N and the PPP at the time of the “no confidence motion” that resulted in the ouster of Imran Khan’s PTI government. The premier was reminded of his and the PDM Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s role as the guarantors of the agreement,” the senior MQM-P leader said,  adding that the prime minister was told that if the PPP did not want to implement the agreement and amend the LG law under the Section-140a of the Constitution, the MQM-P would be free to take its course.

The Special Assistant to the Sindh Chief Minister on Political Affairs, Waqar Mehdi has refuted the allegations being levelled against the PPP for being instrumental in the delay in local bodies’ elections. He also dispelled the impression that MQM-Pakistan influenced the PPP in this respect. “The delay in the local government elections was an administrative matter and not a political one. The LG elections are in favour of the PPP as it is in a winning position in Karachi. However, the police have shown their inability to provide security in the current circumstances”. Mehdi said the police were busy with rescue work of flood victims while the LG polls needed an additional 16,000 personnel.