Governor's rule may be imposed in Sindh if needed, says opposition leader in PA.

Byline: Tahir Siddiqui

KARACHI -- Opposition Leader in the Sindh Assembly Firdaus Shamim Naqvi said on Thursday that Prime Minister Imran Khan was selected by Allah and elected by the people, adding that the lawmakers of the Pakistan Peoples Party were not elected representatives if they considered the premier unelected.

Speaking on the provincial budget in the Sindh Assembly, he said the 18th Amendment contained several useful provisions that had restored the 1973 Constitution in its true spirit, but added that the amendment was aimed at devolving powers to the grassroots level, which was not done by the Sindh government.

He said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's constitution was aimed at devolution of powers but the provincial government kept the powers of the third tier of government. 'No provincial government in the world has civic departments under its control but the Sindh government has been empowered for lifting garbage, provision of water and other local issues,' he said and added: 'These are the reasons for which we demand review of the 18th Constitutional Amendment.'

He suggested that a parliamentary committee of the assembly's members be formed for further deliberation on the matter.

He said the imposition of governor's rule in the province was duly constitutional as there was a provision for it in the country's Constitution and the same could be used if needed.

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The opposition leader said that the PPP founder had incorporated the provision of governor's rule in the 1973's Constitution.

Provincial finance commission

He said that just as the PPP asked the centre for the National Finance Commission, the opposition parties in Sindh demanded a provincial finance commission. He said that districts in the province were not given their rights as the Sindh government did not award the provincial finance commission for long.

He also criticised the provincial government for not giving him the Public Accounts Committee's chairmanship and said it had to be given to the opposition leader 'as Shaheed Benazir Bhutto in the Charter of Democracy had agreed to award PAC's chairmanship to the opposition'.

While he was still on his feet, Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani adjourned the sitting to Friday (today) when the leader of the opposition would resume his speech.

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