Karachi: The Provincial Sindh government on Saturday filed an appeal in the Supreme Court of Pakistan to challenge the high court verdict that recently abrogated amendments made by the treasury in the local government laws.

The Sindh High Court last week struck off the amendments the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) incorporated in the laws.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the two factions of the Pakistan Muslim League, Sindhi nationalist parties and Jamaat-e-Islami, filed the petition against the amendments. The high court verdict came after thousands of candidates filed their nominations to contest the local government elections, schedule for January 18.

The PPP leaders said that they would challenge the high court verdict and on Sunday provincial advocate general Khalid Javed Khan filed the petition in the Supreme Court in Islamabad. The appeal said that the laws were amended according to the constitution. It said that budgeting issues were modified in accordance with the needs of rural and urban constituencies.

The application also claimed that under 2001 law, a local government constituency comprised 30,000 to 70,000 voters and after the amendment a constituency had 10,000 to 50,000 voters and thus any objection was invalid on amendment.

The government also pleaded that with the annulment of the amended law, it would not be possible for the government to hold the elections as scheduled.

Controversy

Meanwhile, a statement of MQM said that demanding a separate province was not repugnant to the constitution and the party would keep pressing for this demand.

The statement issued by the coordination committee of the MQM said that Altaf Hussain did not talk about breaking up the country and that he was quoted in the media out of context.

Addressing a public rally in Hyderabad, Hussain said Urdu speakers want equal rights but they were being deprived of their just rights.

He further said that if the Urdu speakers were not wanted, then a separate province should be constituted for them.

Hussain’s statement was criticised by the other political parties including PPP.