PPP delegation fails to dissuade Kamal from calling off Jan 30 march

Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) Chairman Mustafa Kamal in a meeting with a Sindh government delegation on Sunday made it clear that his party would carry out a march towards the Chief Minister House on January 30 at all costs against the disputed local government bill.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) central leadership had sent some key leaders, including Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Administrator Murtaza Wahab, to Kamal to discuss the controversial Sindh Local Government (Amen­dment) Act 2021 and convince him to cancel the PSP’s march on January 30.

In recent days, the PSP has intensified its preparations for the march from Tibet Centre to the Chief Minister House on January 30 by organising corner meetings to persuade people to join it and pressure the PPP to repeal the disputed law.

PSP leaders Anis Kaimkhani, Ishfaq Mangi, Syed Hafeezudin and others accompanied Kamal during the meeting with the PPP delegation on Sunday.

Talking to the media after the meeting along with Shah and Wahab, Kamal said the PSP leaders had informed the PPP delegation about their concerns regarding the new local government law and the PPP had also assured them that their suggestions would be considered.

“If the PPP agrees to this public demand, it is to their advantage. The PPP has the biggest advantage of an empowered local government system in the province,” Kamal said. “We are talking about the rights of not only Karachi but of the entire Sindh. From Karachi to Kashmore, the people have to be given the right to rule.”

On the ‘ongoing injustices’ with Karachi, the PSP never said that Sindhis were abusing but always openly said that the PPP was abusing the rights of people, the PSP chief remarked.

“Politics on the basis of ethnic hatred has been harming the province and today hatred among various communities has been growing on the basis of language and ethnicity,” he said.

Discussing the tension in Tando Allahyar district, Kamal said that the head of a Sindhi ethnic group had been offering flowers to the killer in a police lock-up. “Such incidents have raised fear of ethnic riots in the province,” he added.

He said the PSP demanded that the murder of Khaliur Rehman Khanzada, alias Bholo, who was murdered a few days back outside a court in Tando Allahyar, be investigated transparently and the powerful killers be punished according to the law.

Shah said holding protests was a constitutional right of everyone but finding a solution through dialogue was also the beauty of democracy. “The Sindh government has been trying to improve the local government bill. The PPP is ready to further improve the law and give more powers to local government bodies,” he said.

Shah also maintained that the Sindh chief minister had taken notice of the Tando Allahyar incident and action would be taken against the culprits. “The province could not tolerate any chaos and anarchy,” he said.