The president of the PPP, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, attacked on Thursday against the federal government for "trying to occupy Karachi" following the statement by Law Minister Farogh Naseem that the center was considering taking over the administrative affairs of the metropolis through of a little known constitutional provision.
Yesterday, Naseem had told him Sunrise that a strategic committee on Karachi would recommend to Prime Minister Imran Khan to invoke Article 149 for the Karachi uprising.
“After obtaining approval from the cabinet, the provision will be exercised. In case of any resistance shown by the provincial government, we will approach the Supreme Court under Article 184 (1) of the Constitution to seek a directive in this regard. If the province still shows reluctance, we will file a petition for contempt in the SC, ”he had said.
The minister had told the news channels that his personal opinion was that the Center should take over Karachi affairs. The prime minister is likely to make any decision during his visit to the metropolis on September 14, he added.
"You try to build a narrative against [Indian Prime Minister Narendra] Modi, saying that he captured unconstitutionally the occupied Kashmir, and at the same time you try to occupy Karachi. This is strange, "Bilawal said in his press conference. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan," who promised to protect human rights in [occupied] Kashmir has shattered the democratic rights of the people of Pakistan.
"Do you want to run Karachi from Islamabad?" she asked
Addressing the media in Hyderabad, Bilawal said that the PPP, which is the ruling party in Sindh, "will never accept any conspiracy" against the province.
"According to the Constitution, the province that produces a resource has the right to use it before providing it to the rest of the country," said the head of the PPP, referring to the long complaint by the Sindh government that the province, despite producing natural gas , was not receiving its corresponding share.
The federal government is trying to provide gas produced in Sindh to the rest of the country and wants residents of the province to use expensive LNG gas imported from Qatar, Bilawal said.
If the federal government "continues to weaken democratic powers in the country, oppresses its people, steals their human rights and also tries to occupy their lands and cities, do you think your country will survive?" Bilawal said.
"This country has already been broken in the past when Islamabad tried to control the state. It is not that these people were less patriotic than you or me." […] If the PPP and other parts of related ideas do not stand up, tomorrow separate states of Sindhi and Pashtun could form, "he warned.
"Get back to your senses! The Islamic democratic system is what has held this country together," he said.
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1504805/bilawal-accuses-centre-of-trying-to-occupy-karachi
