HYDERABAD: Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has said that the party has decided not to compromise on its package of constitutional amendments in lieu of support to a party or coalition-in-making at the Centre after the Feb 8 general elections.
He was speaking at a lunch hosted for city’s notables on Sunday. “This set of amendments is the only condition for MQM-P’s support to a future prime minister,” he said, adding that his party’s aim was to save democracy in a situation where a government at the Centre was very unlikely to be set up without Sindh’s urban centres’ participation. He said his party had already made it clear that it wanted incorporation of unambiguous chapters on local government system and provincial finance commission in the Constitution.
He assured MQM-P candidates that those who would be elected on the party’s ticket would hold their offices for five years if they kept serving the masses. But this time round, if a Muttahida MNA or MPA didn’t serve masses, he/she would not be able to complete their term. “These people are given responsibility; representation is not sold to them,” he said. He cautioned that if anyone had somehow mistakenly got this responsibility, then he/she would definitely be held accountable some time. Mr Siddiqui said his party believed that the present Constitution, which had completed its 50th year now, was protecting jagirdars, family governments, feudal rule and professional politics.
He noted that 18-20 amendments had been made to the Constitution as of today and still it protected [interests of] federal and provincial governments. “We are seeking three more amendments to ensure that it could protect rural, urban and district governments as well,” he explained.
Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui says our package of constitutional amendments will have to be accepted, claims govt at Centre cannot be formed without representation of Sindh’s urban areas
“Powers of these [local] governments should be clearly defined in it in the same manner in which it spells out powers and authority of federal and provincial governments,” he stressed.
The Muttahida leader also insisted that the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award should be directly linked with provincial finance commission. “The way federal government provides resources to provinces under a formula, LGs should also be transferred these resources under the same formula. We are not demanding anything from provinces or federation, nor will we be pleading before chief minister. We are not seeking alms from prime minister, but the rights through Constitution so that residents of streets and mohallas (lanes) should decide themselves how to ensure that all basic amenities could be provided to them,” he categorically stated. For empowering common Pakistanis, he said, polls should not be held if LGs were nonexistent and this be reflected in the Constitution.
Mr Siddiqui also stressed that an interim set-up similar to the federal and provincial caretaker ones, instead of administrators, should be introduced for LGs with responsibility to hold elections within 90 days. “Nothing short of this will be acceptable to the people of urban centres and these amendments would cover rights of everyone, right from a hari of Larkana to a clerk of Lahore’s Dharampura; and for every poor Sindhi-, Seraiki-, Punjabi- and Pashto-speaking citizen,” he said.
The MQM-P convener urged people to join its struggle for “Pakistanis’ government” and not for “Pakistan government”. He emphatically stated that the party would not compromise on these amendments, and asserted that entire country’s destiny was linked with these amendments. He said that 2018 polls were ‘difficult’ for Muttahida and the election this time were ‘challenging’.
The MQM-P leader remarked: “We [in the recent past] made some compromises for our nation just to pay ‘ransom’ for the protection of future generation. We will take this ransom back along with blood money for the blood spilt on borders in 1947, 1970, 1977 and 1992”.
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Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2024