In a country such as Pakistan where each province has an ethnic character and identity of its own this was a bad idea. With the passage of the 18th Amendment the provinces are now in charge of organising local governments. It is time that civil society groups think strategically and back the demands to hold local government elections. Some analysts have linked the MQM’s constant moves to leave the coalition as a pressure tactic to punish the PPP’s failure to establish local government bodies in Karachi and Hyderabad. Read More