KARACHI: Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said that in the coming months, an MQM-backed amendment related to the local government system will be introduced and passed in the Assembly. He added that no bargaining was done during the passage of the 27th Amendment.
At a press conference in Karachi, Mustafa Kamal said that MQM had presented a constitutional amendment bill in the Assembly, and during the 26th Amendment, their bill had been referred to the committee.
He said the federal government had requested them to temporarily hold off on the matter. He added that if MQM wanted, it could have asked for more ministries and privileges. “I want to congratulate Pakistan and the people of Pakistan,” he said.
Kamal stated that MQM worked to solve public issues and approached every political party. To join the government, they set one condition: support for their single-point local government amendment bill. The PML-N agreed to this, and Kamal expressed gratitude to various political parties for supporting them.
The federal minister said that the PPP had not been willing to accept their bill in the 27th Amendment. The federal government appealed to them, saying that important legislation was needed at this stage. He thanked the Prime Minister, cabinet, PML-N, Chaudhry Salik, and friends from PTI and PPP for supporting the inclusion of MQM’s amendment in the 27th Amendment.
The MQM leader said that the standing committee discussed the matter for six hours. The government said that the 27th Amendment included reforms related to the military and judiciary. He added that the bill passed by Punjab is exactly their bill, which fully endorses MQM’s stance.
He said that the next constitutional amendment will include this bill. “We had decided that if this bill was not discussed in the cabinet, we would resign. Our mission is to speak for people’s rights,” he added.
Mustafa Kamal further said that when people were protesting, MQM raised the issues of Pakistan’s citizens in Parliament. He said that for 70 years, the army has been made to fight its own people, which is a national security issue. The federal government needs to address the grievances of the people of Balochistan. “You receive the NFC Award, but there is no PFC at all,” he remarked.
