Sindh writes to ECP for filling reserved LG seats

The Sindh government has written to the Election Commission of Pakistan that elections to fill the reserved seats in the local government agencies in the province should be held without any further delay so that in the next step of polls for mayors and chairmen as heads of these local bodies could be held.

This was stated by Adviser to Chief Minister on Law, Barrister Murtaza Wahab at a press conference on Monday. The letter sent in this connection by the local government department to the provincial election commissioner mentions that much time had already passed without filling the reserved seats in question, as the local government polls in the first phase in the province were held in June 2022, while in the elections in the second phase were held in January 2023.

The letter says that the elected local government representatives in Sindh despite the passage of much time had yet to take the oath of their office, and they also failed to discharge their responsibilities with regard to relief activities in the aftermath of floods last year.

Barrister Wahab told media persons that the disbursal of special assistance of Rs2,000 to each of over 7.8 million low-income selected families in the province to help them purchase wheat flour during the holy month would begin in the current week. He said that some 3.8 million selected households would get the special assistance in two days, while the rest of the beneficiary families would get the promised aid money in early April.

He said the newly promulgated ordinance in the province had increased the powers of the price control officials during Ramazan with the intent that essential food products would remain available to the people at government-fixed rates.

The law adviser said that in addition to increasing the fine against profiteering and hoarding of essential products, the new ordinance had empowered officials to seize and auction the items whose retail prices were found to be higher than the government-fixed rates.

He conceded the situation that apart from the makeshift special discount markets established in Karachi the essential items at other shops and stalls were being sold at exorbitant rates. Barrister Wahab, who also acts as the spokesman for the Sindh government, said he had visited the Pak Colony area in Karachi where he had ordered the seizure of bananas for its auction at the government-fixed rate as they were being sold at an excessive rate of Rs200 per dozen.

He appealed to the people to alert the relevant government officials about the instances of profiteering during the holy month, saying that stern action would be taken against retailers who violated the government notified rate list. He claimed that the Sindh government had become fully serious this time about tackling the issue of profiteering.

He warned the retailers to follow the government rate lists; otherwise, the products at their shops would be seized and immediately auctioned as per the official price lists. Barrister Wahab said that such guilty shopkeepers had to face separate legal action.