KARACHI: Days after a resounding victory in the local body polls, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), who is yet to announce a name for the position, said the mayor of Karachi will have no power.
Speaking to media in Azizabad's Lal Qila ground, MQM leader Haider Abbas Rizvi said the country's largest city, Karachi, has been given an almost 'handicapped' local bodies system, rendering the mayor of a mega city 'powerless'.
He was of the view that the The Sindh Local Government Act 2013 leaves Karachi's mayor so weak that he cannot even order a cleanliness drive in the city.
"The city mayor will have to wait for a minister for the local bodies' approval to issue salaries to his subordinates," said the MQM leader.
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he MQM leader said the people of Karachi reject this system as they do not want their mayor to be a 'beggar', adding that his party will take all theconstitutional and legal steps to ensure that the mayor gets his due powers.
"We expect all the other parties who claim to represent Karachi to support our efforts in this regard,"said Rizvi.
Waseem Akhtar, Incharge of MQM's Central Executive Committee said that Supreme Court should take suo motu notice on this issue.
"If the SC can force the government to hold local body polls, it can also arrange for the mayor to get his due powers," said Akhtar.
Rizvi earlier thanked all who congratulated his party on the electoral win and vowed to serve the people of Karachi with renewed vigour and dedication.
He said the people of Karachi have trusted MQM with a 'heavy responsibility' by voting for party candidates in the recently concluded local body polls in Karachi.
MQM clinched 135 seats in the election for six Karachi districts, trouncing the electoral alliance of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), both of whom bagged 11 and seven seats respectively. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerged the runner up in Karachi, securing 32 seats, according to unofficial results.
There are a total of 51 UCs in Karachi’s Central district; 46 in West; 37 in Korangi; 31 each in East and South and 13 in Malir district.
The party is poised to clinch the office of Karachi mayor, with the names of Wasim Akhtar, Arshad Hasan, Arshad Vohra and Arif Khan being floated as possible contenders.
In addition to the mayor and deputy mayor, the MQM is also set to grab the posts of chairmen of the district municipal corporations of four of the six districts.
Last year, provincial lawmaker Heer Soho at an event had said the LG system is flawed: “The biggest problem we face time and again is that even the sanitary system is looked over by the chief minister. Whether it is police, education, or health, the power to make decisions on these must be with the local government.”
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