stated<\/a> that the party had developed a \u201cconsensus\u201d on issues facing the country in a recent meeting with the PML-N and not an electoral alliance.<\/p>\nAt the outset of today\u2019s press conference in Karachi, Siddiqui welcomed the PML-N delegation. He expressed the hope that relations between the two parties would prove to be an \u201cimportant step\u201d for Pakistan\u2019s democracy and security.<\/p>\n
Siddiqui then invited Rafique to speak. Thanking the MQM-P leadership for welcoming the PML-N leadership, Rafique said, \u201cBoth the parties think that democracy in Pakistan needs to be transformed into the democracy of the common man. The time has come to decide formulas for the equal distribution of resources and to give it legal and Constitutional protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that this matter did not just concern Karachi but all cities in the country. \u201cSo this partnership between PML-N and MQM will benefit not just Karachi but all of Pakistan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rafique said that the Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) award should also be \u201cmade a reality\u201d and implemented. He said that the equal distribution of resources should now move from the provinces to local governments.<\/p>\n
He regretted the lack of implementation of the local government system, adding that mainstream political parties would have to play a role in this regard in the future. He said that Pakistan was facing political and economic crises.<\/p>\n
The PML-N leader said political parties should sit down together and do \u201celectoral adjustments\u201d ahead of polls where possible. He said that where this was not possible, then the government and opposition formed after the elections should work on the Charter of Democracy and agree on a Charter of Economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo two teams are working, of MQM and PML-N [and] the names of which will be announced in a few days, so that we can talk on legal and constitutional reforms needed in the interest of the common man through the next Parliament that will be formed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rafique further said, \u201cThere were no talks between us on seat adjustments. In the past, talks started with the topic of seat adjustments.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, we have all travelled so far in our political journey that seat adjustment will keep happening but the primary work is to move forward towards reforms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rafique said talks were also held with other stakeholders in Sindh, including the Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan, adding that the PML-N wished to create an alliance in Sindh that would represent national wishes and prevent the \u201cneglect\u201d shown to Karachi and other cities of the province.<\/p>\n
To achieve this, Rafique said it was necessary that rigging does not take place and votes cast translate into results. \u201cSo this is not just the responsibility of PML-N and the MQM. It is the responsibility of all state institutions and all political powers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rafique further said that the \u201cnew manifesto\u201d being prepared by the PML-N, which would also be presented to the MQM-P, would also talk about judicial reforms for the appointment of judges as well as bureaucratic reforms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen there is a chapter on accountability. We don\u2019t recognise the NAB (National Accountability Bureau) law. If there is a need for an institution of accountability, then it needs to be free of pressure and [free of] political engineering and arm-twisting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo there is a lot of work to be done [and] there is little time. Our own manifestos are being prepared and we will also try to come before the public with a common political agenda,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Questioned about the partnership between the two parties and if it would successfully continue, Rafique said it would not \u201cwalk but run\u201d.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Siddiqui said Pakistan was subject to \u201cevery kind of crisis\u201d at the moment. But he said the actual crisis afflicting the country had more to do with \u201cintentions\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said the Constitution should be strengthened for the people\u2019s benefit and to protect their rights instead of favouring those in power.<\/p>\n
Stressing that local governments should be empowered to provide the fruits of democracy to the common man, Siddiqui demanded that the third tier of governance \u2014 including district, city and local governments \u2014 should be provided with the same legal and constitutional cover as federal and provincial governments.<\/p>\n
He said there should be caretaker mayors and district chairmen to ensure that polls are conducted in 90 days. Siddiqui called on all stakeholders to have the third tier of government intact as a condition for holding general elections.<\/p>\n
Siddiqui further said that the roles, resources and departments under the control of the third tier of government should be constitutionally enshrined. Lastly, the MQM-P convener said the National Finance Commission Award should be linked to the PFC award and both should be calculated through the same method and released simultaneously.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, Rafique had said the purpose of today\u2019s meeting was to advance last week\u2019s talks on constitutional and legal reforms, particularly those related to Karachi\u2019s degradation and local governments.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the media at the Karachi Press Club, Rafique was also asked about the recent back-and-forth between the PML-N and the PPP. To this, he said that the current focus should be on political manifestos and how to rid the country of the issues it is facing.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique said on Sunday that there had been no talks as yet on seat adjustment with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan. Rafique made the comments after a PML-N delegation, including Ayaz Sadiq and Bashir Memon, called on the MQM-P leadership at its office in Karachi\u2019s Bahadurabad. His remarks come after, in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/large\/2023\/11\/12182107d509dcb.jpg?r=182250","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}