‘PSP did not end sit-in, only postponed it’

Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal on Saturday said that no change could take place in the country unless powers and resources were devolved to the union committee level.

“While the Muttahida Qaumi Movement is unable to even cover a single manhole, it makes tall claims of creating a new province,” Kamal said.

Paying tribute to the PSP workers for the successful six-day sit-in at Fawara Chowk, he said the purpose of the sit-in was to get powers and resources transferred to the people of Karachi to Kashmore.

He deplored that powers had been restricted to the Chief Minister House since the enactment of the 18th Amendment. “The Sindh chief minister is in charge of Rs1,200 billion but doesn't devolve powers and resources to the UC level,” he said.

Kamal claimed that the Sindh government had accepted 80 per cent of the PSP’s demands. “We didn't end the sit-in, we simply postponed the protest. We are examining how much action was taken on what was agreed upon.”

He was of the view that Pakistan needed three amendments to the constitution. “Just as the provinces get money from the federation, the money from the provinces must go to the lower level. The entire chapter of the LG system should be written in the constitution.”

“As long as there is no local government system, elections to the national and provincial assemblies should not be held,” he said. “These three points should be written in the constitution.” Though in power for more than 40 years, the MQM never put forward these three constitutional amendments, Kamal said.