By Shamim-ur-Rahman
KARACHI: The Pakistan People’s Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement agreed on Monday to replace nazims with non-political administrators and hold local government elections soon on party basis.
The coalition partners are working on a bill for the purpose. The decision was taken at a meeting between leaders of the PPP and Muttahida presided over by President Asif Ali Zardari at Bilawal House.
Leaders of the two parties told journalists they had agreed to sort out their differences and frustrate the elements trying to destabilise the democratic system. They agreed to hold another meeting to firm up plans for restoring peace in the city.
The president expressed concern over target killings and the law and order situation in Karachi and said that some elements were trying to create differences between coalition partners in Sindh. “These elements do not like the existing atmosphere of reconciliation.”
The president stressed the need for increasing cooperation and coordination between the PPP and Muttahida and advised them to defuse tension, foil the designs of anti-democratic forces and improve the law and order situation.
Senior provincial minister Pir Mazharul Haq said that most of the issues between the MQM and the PPP had been resolved. “We are two brothers in the province and we will try to resolve all our differences through negotiations. These are minor differences and we are confident of resolving them.” He said the president had warned against elements which did not like this coalition to move forward and time and again tried to create differences between the PPP and MQM.
Mr Haq said that Awami National Party, another coalition partner in the Sindh government, would also be taken on board when the core committee took up the law and order issue. Dr Farooq Sattar, who led the MQM delegation at the meeting, said that matters relating to law and order and local bodies elections were discussed and it was decided that all issues would be resolved through talks.
About the forthcoming local government elections, Dr Sattar said both President Zardari and MQM chief Altaf Hussain were following the politics of reconciliation. He said the president had already announced that LB polls would be held in four months.
He said that non-political administrators would function till the election of councillors and nazims.
Source: Dawn
Date:2/2/2010
