The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Wednesday demanded that local governments be given autonomy in the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment.
After the PPP revealed key features of the proposed amendment for which the government sought its support, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said yesterday that the legislation for the tweaks will soon be tabled in Parliament.
MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar presented his party’s demand today while addressing a press conference in Islamabad, alongside party leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.
“The important thing that we also said at the time of the 26th Amendment, that our constitutional amendment package be included,” he said, referring to its agreement with the PML-N to empower local governments.
“But it did not happen,” Sattar lamented.
He asserted that after provincial autonomy was granted under the 18th Amendment of 2010, the “next step naturally is local autonomy, so it’s turn must come”.
“This should also be included in the 27th Amendment,” the MQM-P leader added.
The politician contended that Article 140A of the Constitution needed to be amended so that laws enacted by the local governments would not contradict it.
More to follow
