Health Minister Mustafa Kamal expressed confidence on Monday that the changes pertaining local governments sought by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) would be addressed in the next constitutional amendment slated for the “coming months”.
Kamal made the remarks while addressing a press conference in Karachi, less than a week after the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment was enacted into law amid protests by the opposition and other quarters.
When the 27th Amendment was tabled in the National Assembly on Nov 11, Kamal had referred to Article 140-A of the Constitution, which relates to local governments, and said his party’s proposed amendments “are not dead yet” and would be discussed as part of the 28th Amendment.
Speaking to the media today, he said that changes were initially pitched to be included in the 26th Amendment, which was passed by Parliament during an overnight session in October last year.
Kamal then thanked other parties, including the ruling PML-N, and “individual friends from the PPP” and “many friends from the PTI” for “vocally backing” the MQM-P’s changes related to local governments.
He said the proposed changes were extensively discussed for over six hours in the parliamentary standing committee meeting called to deliberate on the 27th Constitutional Amendment.
“We had enough numbers […] We had won our case in the standing committee. We had the numbers. We had the support of the PML-N and others,” he maintained. “But, the PPP was not ready to support the [inclusion of] our bill [on local governments] in the 27th Amendment, which resulted in a deadlock,” he added, clarifying that he was not making any allegations in saying so.
Kamal said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the ruling PML-N then requested the MQM-P to postpone its proposed changes once again as the Amendment included crucial provisions pertaining to the Pakistan Army and judiciary, Kamal said.
“We were assured that they all supported the bill. They asked for one more chance, assuring that this would be included in the next amendment,” he added.
Subsequently, the MQM-P decided to accept the request in the “larger interest of the country,” he said.
Stressing the importance of changes pertaining to local government, Kamal further stated: “In Pakistan, […] in the coming months, this constitutional amendment will be introduced in the assembly and get approved, and the people will get resources at their doorstep.”
Kamal also referred to the Punjab Assembly unanimously passing a resolution last month, calling for an amendment to Article 140-A of the Constitution to ensure empowerment and protection of local bodies, along with mandatory and timely elections for effective governance. He deemed the development a success of the MQM-P.
