Karachi (HRNW)- A multi-party seminar was organized by the Empowered People in which leaders of various political and parliamentary parties participated.
Former federal minister and Empowered People head Asad Umar, MQM leaders Farooq Sattar and Aminul Haq, PTI leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi, Jamaat-e-Islami leader and opposition leader KMC Saifuddin Advocate, and Functional League leader Sardar Rahim were present in the seminar.
In addition, GDA leader Hasnain Mirza, MQM members of assembly Taha Ahmed Khan and Adil Askari, while former members of Sindh Assembly Bilal Ghaffar, Sidra Imran and Dr. Sanjay also participated in the seminar.
Addressing the seminar, the speakers said that the promises made in the 18th Constitutional Amendment have not been fully implemented, while concern was also expressed over the lack of effective progress on the Provincial Finance Commission. They demanded that district finance commissions be established along with the provincial level.
The speakers, citing the Charter of Democracy, said that the Public Accounts Committee should have been headed by the opposition, but this principle was not followed. They also raised questions about the inactivity of the Public Safety Commission and the District Safety Commission.
In his address, Saifuddin Advocate said that despite the Jamaat-e-Islami getting a majority in the local body elections, he was made the opposition leader. He said that the transfer of powers to the lower levels under Article 140-A of the Constitution could not be clearly implemented.
He said that important institutions like the Water Board, the Garbage Collection System and the Building Control Authority have been brought under the control of the city government to the provincial government, which has weakened the local body system. According to him, at present the entire system is running on an ad hoc basis and the KMC does not have effective powers.
The speakers emphasized that if powers are really transferred to the lower levels, it will be a major democratic and administrative achievement, while reforms in the current system are inevitable.
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