REVIVAL OF OBSOLETE COMMISSIONERATE SYSTEM BETRAYS INHERENT DICTATORSHIP OF THE GOVERNEMNT

Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) has rejected the revival of the commissionerate system in Sindh by the government and decided to contest the decision in courts. Terming the decision as the worst form of dictatorship the MQM has announced a public contact campaign in order to mould public opinion. Giving a press briefing after the joint meeting of the Co-ordination Committee in London and Karachi simultaneously, Dr Farooq Sattar, Deputy Convener of the MQM, said that the MQM had rejected the revival of the commissionerate system in principle. Dr Sattar said that the restoration of the commissionerate system reflected an inherent autocratic approach of the government. Deputy Convener Anis Qaimkhani and other members of the co-ordination committee were also present on the occasion.

Dr Sattar said that taking away the power from local governments and empowering the bureaucracy through the revival of the obsolete commissionerate system was patently dictatorial and autocratic. All the democracies of the world had a well-established local government system the absence of a vibrant local government system was in fact a manifestation of autocracy and concentration of powers because system of local government helped in empowering the people at the grassroots level.

Dr Sattar said that the imposition of the commissionerate system violated article 140-A of the constitution. The MQM had ensured that the local government system could not be dismantled by the 18^th constitutional amendment as well.

Dr Sattar said that the imposition of the commissionerate system negated democracy and democratic norms. The efficient way of solving the problems of the people at the lowest level would have been to give power to the people who were easily accessible to the public. The commissionerate system, he said, would build up the bureaucratic infrastructure.

Dr Sattar said that the real intentions of the government could easily been seen behind this decision if the commissionerate system is analysed in its historical perspective. The commissionerate system was introduced by the British who wanted to promote the toadies. He asserted that the system was being restored in order to strengthen the monopoly of the feudal lords and the privileged class over the politics of the country.

Dr Sattar said that if the commissionerate system were so good, it would have been in vogue in the United Kingdom as well. He said that the system had become timeworn and it was not functional in any of the country of the world. The government had restored the commissionerate system to subjugate the people of Sindh.

Dr Sattar said that the local government system was the essence of democracy and no civilized country could even think about imposing such system that empowered the bureaucracy. The local government law of 1979 was dug up and enforced to maintain the status quo. Speaking on the occasion Deputy Convener of MQM Anis Ahmed Qaimkhani also denounced the imposition of the commissionerate system. He said that the MQM would agitate this issue in the parliament and the Sindh Assembly. He said that the MQM would go in public in order to find their opinion on the issue.

Mr Qaimkhani said that there was a conspiracy to create division in the rural and urban Sindh but declared that the MQM would defeat all such attempts by forging unity in the province. He said that the MQM was being punished for coming out of the government. The government was resorting to every form of strong arm tactics in order to force the MQM to re-join the government.