Mashallah. Empowerment is good. I hope all political parties follow suit.
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=86088
**MQM manifesto seeks ‘empowerment for all’ **
Friday, December 14, 2007
By Fasahat Mohiuddin
Karachi
Empowerment for all and the abolition of taxes on utility bills, food items and petroleum products were the main these of the Muttahda Qaumi vement (MQM) 2008 general elections manifesto launched Thursday.
MQM Rabita Committee deputy convener, Dr Farooq Sattar, presented the manifesto at Lal Qila ground, Azizabad, and said that the party aimed to provide relief to each and every citizen of the country without any discrimination.
The concept of “unity of command” has been introduced for urban development plans all over the country, Dr Sattar said, adding that under this plan a single agency, linked with land utilisation, would control services and its revenue collection under the command of the city or district nazim. He declined to name land utilisation-controlling agencies in Karachi. “This is necessary for effectively dealing with problems such as water, sewerage, solid waste, and power supply, and would ensure strict enforcement of master and town plans, building and zoning regulations and land utilization. ‘Unity of command’ would also make appropriate allocation for sectors such as disaster management, health and education. Too many cooks spoil the broth, and the control of multiple agencies makes it virtually impossible to solve the problems of the city,” Dr Sattar said.
The MQM manifesto also calls for maximum provincial autonomy which, the Rabita Committee deputy convener said, was sine qua non for a federation. “The Lahore Resolution of 1940 also advocated autonomy for constituent units. Promises ade by our founding leaders and the aspirations of the people of Pakistan were never respected, however, and this led the dismemberment of the country in 1971,” Dr Sattar said.
The unresolved issue of provincial autonomy is currently the biggest cause of disharmony and distrust between the federating units of Pakistan, he said, adding that the MQM “wants a national dialogue and consensus among federating units in order to settle this contentious issue as per the aspirations of the people, particularly those from smaller provinces.”
The MQM has struggled to abolish the feudal system in the country, because it makes 98 percent f the population suffer at the hands of the remaining two percent — the ruling elite, Dr Sattar said.
He also called for curbing religious extremism and adopting the policy of tolerance, indulgence and education for all, as well as doing away with the present dual system of education in the country where educational institutions for poor people have different standards as compared to “English-medium and Grammar schools.” “This can be done by raising the standard of Urdu medium and government-run educational institutions to bring them at par with Grammar and English medium institutions,” he added.
He said that there was a dire need to introduce reforms in Madressahs and providing them all out incentives to bring their syllabus and standard of teaching in conformity with the mainstream education. The MQM manifesto also calls for making education compulsory for each and every child and there should be free education up to Matriculation or equivalent level. He said that the MQM’s opposition to violence against women was known to everybody in the country and the party would continue striving for equal rights for women in every field.
In a nutshell, Dr Sattar said, the MQM manifesto has proposed that the country should enter the 21st century with the theme of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan. Freedom of the media and freedom of expression was another feature of the MQM manifesto, he said, adding that the party firmly believed that the judiciary must also be independent, impartal and autonomous in order to be able to dispense justice to people and establish the rule of law in society.
The MQM manifesto proposes the eradication of social, cultural, religious and economic injustices, Dr Sattar said. Moreover, the State must ensure the fundamental rights of all citizens and bear the responsibility of providing protection and security to all of them. “Torture, police excesses, confinement without trial and socio-political harassment must cease in a democratic country like Pakistan,” he said. “Being an agrarian country Pakistan needs agriculture reforms, such as sanctioning micro financing credit along the lines of Garmeen Bank, providing tractors and small agriculture machinery at subsidized prices, introducing cooperative farming, and paving the way for farmers to allow them to market their products directly without relying on middle men,” Dr Sattar said. Health for all remains a slogan that needs to be translated into projects and programs, said. Also, the MQM has called for the abolishment of the Frontier Constabulary.
“Eradication of political authoritarianism, abolition of the feudal system, promotion of cultural pluralism, devolution of power to the grassroots level and achieving maximum provincial autonomy are the cherished goals of MQM,” Dr Sattar said. “The party believes in the induction of common people into the power structure in order to provide equal opportunities for economically and socially deprived people,” he said.
