THE NATIONAL BUDGET A PLOY TO FURTHER DEPRIVE THE SMALLER PROVINCES IN PAKISTAN – ALTAF HUSSAIN

London-15 June 1999

Mr. Altaf Hussain, founder and leader of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) has strongly condemned the national budget for the fiscal year 1999-2000 as punitive and a ploy to deprive the smaller provinces and Sindh in particular.

Mr Altaf Hussain said that the role and responsibilities of the federal government are being enhanced and widened so as to maximise appropriation of federal revenues, leaving limited funds for distribution to the provinces. The increase in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) allocation, introduction of Poverty Alleviation fund and housing development plan under the control of federal government is in line with this strategy.

Mr Hussain further said that the function and financial resources of the provinces are being curtailed making them more and more dependent on the Federal Government. He said that in this regard the most obvious case is the abolition of Zila taxes and Octroi, now being collected by the Local Governments. He emphasised that this would only result in impoverishment of the Local Government institutions as neither the Federal nor the Provincial Governments would ever be able to reimburse the District Councils and the Municipal Corporations/ Committees. This will only be termed as deprivation of their power to administer the civic requirement of the people, hence depriving the people of their basic rights and facilities.

Mr Hussain said that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation is going to be the worst hit and people of Karachi, the worst sufferers on this account. He said that it is solely designed by the Pakistan Muslim League basically representing the province of Punjab to maim the Municipal Body of the largest city of Sindh. The abolition of Octroi amounts to flagrant interference in the provincial autonomy and setting at naught the constitutional scheme of distribution of powers between centre and the provinces.

Mr Hussain said that the anti-smaller province stance taken by the Federal Government would be highly detrimental to the stability of the Federation and should be subjected to radical review by the patriotic segments of the country in the best interest of the country.

Mr Hussain said that the Federal Government must reverse its policies of victimisation against the smaller provinces and particularly Sindh. He further said that the Poverty Alleviation Programme must be entrusted to the Local Bodies and the Provinces. He further said that the Programme for construction of 500,0000 houses should be tailored not according to the provincial population but on the basis of actual needs and requirements which are most urgent in Sindh – not only in Karachi and Hyderabad but more so in respect of those areas which have been devastated by the recent cyclone. The implementation of the Housing Programme should not be entrusted to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat or the Provincial set up particularly in Sindh where democracy and elected Provincial Government has been suspended by the autocratic and totalitarian Prime Minister. He said that to uproot corruption such projects should be handed over to the national non-governmental organisations like Human Rights Commission of Pakistan or related and efficient NGOs.

Mr Altaf Hussain expressed his deep concern on the sufferings of the people of Karachi and the apathy of the PML Government that built the motorways in Punjab while the largest and the most densely populated city of Karachi has been deprived of its Mass Transit Project which is desperately needed for this neglected city.

The hike in prices including petrol would increase the sufferings and poverty of the ninety-eight per cent of the people and particularly of the smaller provinces which are already living below poverty level as a result of the policies of the Federal Government which has directed all its resources and energy to the development of Punjab and that also is confined to northern Punjab.

Mr Hussain said that abolition of Zila Tax and Octroi will create resentment amongst the people of Sindh and will put extra burden on the Provincial Government Budget that can never disburse extra funds to the Local Bodies as the Federal Government never releases funds to Sindh which are already due to it under the NFC Award.

Mr Hussain said that while the other third world countries are following the modern democratic countries in making their provinces autonomous, self-contained and are delegating power to the provinces, Mr Nawaz Sharif is pushing the country into retrogression and, for all intents and purposes, is behaving like the Prime Minister of Punjab and not of Pakistan.

Mr. Hussain also condemned the blatant and naked interference in the provincial affairs by the autocratic Federal Government of Nawaz Sharif, which has also taken Professional Tax from the provinces, which was hitherto-fore being assessed and collected by the provincial governments.