Karachi: The participants of a protest sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly building remained steadfast and braved nightlong rain and cold weather to continue with their agitation for empowering system of municipal governance in Karachi.
A strong westerly weather system from Balochistan caused the first spell of rain of the New Year in Karachi. The continuous rain in the night also dropped the mercury-levels.
The activists and supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) have been encamping outside Sindh Assembly building since evening of December 31, 2021 to protest against the newly adopted provincial Local Government (Amendment) Bill-2021, that according to the Opposition in the province, has further diluted the powers of Karachi’s local governments and the office of city’s mayor.
JI Karachi chief, Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, announced that extreme weather conditions including heavy rain and drop in the mercury-levels could not compel them to end abruptly the protest sit-in.
He said the agitation would continue until the Sindh government agreed to withdraw the new provincial local government amendment law and also announce a clear-cut road map for empowering the mechanism of municipal governance in Karachi.
He said the basic civic problems of Karachi, including absence of a modern public transport system and potable water for all residents of the city, would remain unresolved until empowerment of the municipal agencies of the provincial capital.
The JI leader said their protest movement was meant to protect the basic civic rights of over 20 million residents of Karachi. “No way we are in a mood to end the agitation halfway without achieving our goals,” he said.
He was of the view that the Sindh government had taken an unconstitutional step by adopting the law as the Constitution of Pakistan guaranteed political, administrative, and financial powers for municipal agencies of the urban centres.
While reacting to the protests, Sindh Information and Labour Information Minister, Saeed Ghani, said “agitation on roads of Karachi is not the right way” and instead the forum of provincial assembly should be lawfully used for the purpose.
