The bench directed one of the petitioners to submit by the next hearing a comparative analysis of all local government systems that prevailed since the colonial period. During the course of proceedings, the Chief Justice questioned about the grounds under which only a few cities have been declared metropolitan in an administrative division.
According to the Chief Justice, if all the powers are to be delegated to the district governments then provincial governments should be abolished. He questioned: Is this not discrimination that wealthy districts have been intentionally separated from the rest?
One of the petitioners, Barrister Zamir Hussain Ghumro, submitted that the Ordinance is contradictory to the Constitution of Pakistan through which a local government has been converted into a provincial government. Giving a break-up of the towns and districts in Karachi, he said all the 18 towns and five districts in Karachi are metropolitan in status, adding that the city government is not fully metropolitan but a separate authority or entity, divided into urban and rural categories.
The Chief Justice questioned about the criteria adopted to declare a district or town as 'metropolitan' and sought notifications from the concerned authorities in this regard. Justice Gulzar Ahmed remarked that if there are no criteria and all has been done on the basis of sole discretion then the executing authority should be held responsible. The bench directed Advocate General Sindh to produce all the notifications before the bench on next hearing. The hearing was adjourned till December 17.