From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday issued a notice to the provincial government on a petition filed by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) seeking implementation of the Supreme Court’s landmark verdict on local government powers. A bench of the SHC also put the advocate general Sindh on notice to file the provincial authorities’ comments on the matter by the next hearing. The court issued directives for tagging together all the petitions regarding the local government laws for a consolidated hearing.
“Has the Supreme Court not decided this case?” the bench asked at the outset of the hearing.
Advocate Tariq Mansoor, the counsel for the petitioner, stated that his client has approached this court for implementation of the apex court’s verdict. He pleaded that the Sindh government be directed to amend the local government law in light of the SC verdict.
MQM’s Kanwar Naveed Jameel and other leaders filed the petition seeking empowerment of local governments in Sindh under the verdict of the apex court.
It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court had on Feb 1 directed the Sindh government to devolve powers to the local government in the province.
The top court gave this verdict on a petition filed by the MQM-P through which it sought transfer of power to the local bodies in Sindh.
Former chief justice Gulzar Ahmed, who authored the judgement, said that it was the local governments’ prerogative to make and implement master plans. The provincial government cannot start a project which is under the local government’s domain, ruled the SC.
