News
Thursday, October 14, 2010
MQM calls for end to over centralisation, feudalism* Farooq Sattar vows to introduce ‘19th Amendment’ for complete provincial autonomy
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Describing it as a chronic disease afflicting Pakistan, the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) on Wednesday called for an end to over centralisation and feudalism, holding the two as root causes that had also resulted in terrorism and extremism in the country.
MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar, while speaking at a seminar, “Federalism and Provincial Autonomy”, called for complete provincial autonomy, saying that strong federating units were the guarantee to a strong federation.
Organised by the Centre for Peace and Development Initiative (CPDI), Jamat-e-Islami Senator Proffesor Ibrahim, Pakistan People’s Party’s Senator Saeeda Iqbal, and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid MNA Sardar Shah Jahan Yousaf also addressed the seminar.
Sattar said his party believed that over centralisation and feudalism had been the two basic root causes of the country’s problems, and stressed the need to address it deeply and with a clear prospective. He opined that all problems such as extremism, terrorism and deprivation had been consequences of the “two chronic diseases” afflicting Pakistan. Referring to the 18th Amendment, he said the act had been the first step towards provincial autonomy, but there was still need to do more.
Sattar vowed that the MQM would introduce a 19th Amendment in parliament for complete provincial autonomy. He added that more provinces could be created to resolve administrative problems and transfer resources at the grassroots level.
He opined that the 1973 constitution could not remove the domination of 500 families of the ruling elite in Pakistan.
He also called to revive the collection of sales taxes by the federation, saying that except for Pakistan it is the right of the federating units to collect the sales tax. Sattar opined that the centre should have only three powers — foreign affairs, defence and currency, while the remaining should be shifted to federating units. Prof Ibrahim, while addressing the seminar, described Islam, democracy, and federalism as the three basic pillars of Pakistan.
He observed that the state had not been seriously working to implement the Islamic system as a better one for social justice. He was of the opinion that there would be no clash among institutions if the 1973 constitution had been implemented, in letter and sprit.
PML-Q’s Sardar Shah Jahan Yousaf supporting the MQM land reform agenda said there was a dire need to empower the poorer segments of society. He also supported the creation of more provinces, so problems of representation in decision-making bodies were resolved, and called for removing inequality within provinces.
Saeeda said there were many areas that still needed to be improved so the people could really own Pakistan.
She stressed the need to remove regional inequalities due to the sense of deprivation amongst the provinces and regretted “interruptions” in the democratic process, which had tried to make Pakistan a strong center at the cost of provincial autonomy.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk