ISLAMABAD; Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday met a seven-member delegation of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), led by Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, to discuss the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The MQM-P delegation included Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori, Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal, MNAs Dr Farooq Sattar, Jawed Hanif Khan, Syed Aminul Haque, and Khawaja Izharul Hassan.
Senior government members including Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, and others were also present.
Separately, the prime minister held discussions with Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) President and Federal Minister Abdul Aleem Khan and Minister of State Aun Chaudhry regarding the amendment.
A day earlier, MQM-P reiterated its demand that local governments be granted autonomy under the proposed 27th Amendment, emphasizing that the next logical step after the 18th Amendment’s provincial autonomy was empowerment of local bodies.
Dr Farooq Sattar said the party’s proposed amendment package should be included in the constitutional reforms, lamenting that it had been overlooked during the passage of the 26th Amendment.
He stressed that Article 140A of the Constitution should be revised to ensure local laws do not contradict the federal framework, arguing that the Constitution should evolve with changing national needs.
MQM-P Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui also supported constitutional courts and said the 27th Amendment should ensure elected local representatives have guaranteed tenures. He further highlighted the need to harmonize Article 243, concerning command of the armed forces, with modern defence requirements and national unity.
The MQM-P had earlier signed an agreement with the PML-N in March 2024, seeking for local governments to derive powers directly from the federation rather than provinces.
