The home department Sindh on Saturday authorised the deputy commissioner to issue arms licenses, with a spokesperson for the department saying that the home minister had restored the quota of issuing licenses to DCs, which they had prior to the local government system of 2001.

The move may further complicate the issue of the local government system, a bone of contention between the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The MQM wants the LG representatives to have more powers while the PPP has been advocating for the commissionerate system in which bureaucrats would have an upper hand.

Both the parties met at the CM House on Saturday to find a way out on the LG system.

They discussed the role of commissioners and deputy commissioners and local government officers in the light of the present circumstances and approved “some recommendations” which will be submitted to the chief minister for approval.

MQM’s minister Syed Sardar Ahmed, one of the participants of the meeting, told The News that they unanimously approved recommendations to withdraw notifications issued on March 20 and 22, entrusting control of municipal committees to commissioners and deputy commissioners. Sardar said now the administrators would take charge of municipal services.

The MQM leader said it was also agreed in the meeting that the coalition partners would meet again on Tuesday to discuss local bodies polls and if need be, the chief minister and the governor would attend the meeting to evolve consensus over the issue.

The chief minister had recently allotted municipal functions to commissioner and deputy commissioner, which ostensibly irked Local Government Minister Agha Siraj Durrani. Subsequently, the order was withdrawn.

The meeting was attended among others by Pir Mazharul Haq, Agha Siraj Durrani, Minister Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah, Minister Law and Jails Muhammad Ayaz Soomro, Minister Archives Engineer Rafiq, Minister Syed Sardar Ahmed, Minister for IT Raza Haroon, Minister Health Dr Sagheer Ahmed and Adviser to the CM Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh.