Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry urged the Supreme Court (SC) on Sunday to ensure the implementation of Article 140-A of the Constitution in Sindh to address what he dubbed a “constitutional crisis” in the province.
Article 140-A requires the provincial governments to establish local governments in their jurisdiction.
Speaking to media representatives in Karachi, the federal minister said Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had resorted to “nationalist politics” and had dissociated himself from the politics of Benazir Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
He also accused the Sindh government of misusing development funds.
“Around Rs16-18 billion have been transferred to Sindh during the past two to three years and with the provincial share being increased in the new budget … the province will be getting another Rs7-7.5 billion through the NFC (National Finance Commission) award,” the minister said, questioning, “Where do these funds go?”
He also pointed out that in the absence of a “capable” police force, the provincial government had to rely on the Rangers to maintain law and order in Karachi since the 1990s.
“Every year, they (the Sindh government) pay the Rangers and beg for the paramilitary force to remain deployed here [in Karachi].”
Fawad Chaudhry added that while the Sindh government seemed to have limited its job to enjoying protocols, the situation in the rest of the province was no different.
“They take huge sums for areas like Ghotki and Badin, which produce gas and oil, on account of special development packages. But look at the state of Badin and Ghotki today,” he said.
The minister further said the healthcare system in Sindh had been completely destroyed and the situation was so dire that the SC had to intervene and direct the Centre to take over the administrative control of three main hospitals of Sindh, namely the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and National Institute of Child Health.
“The MPAs from Sindh’s leadership need to think about such issues,” Fawad Chaudhry emphasised.
Reiterating that the province was getting sufficient funds without any records of where they were being spent and with no visible signs of investment in its cities and districts, he said a PPP member was made the chief minister after every five years “who is then used by the Zardari family as a puppet”.
“The Sindh chief minister and the Sindh Assembly has been left with no decision-making [powers]. The decision-making does not rest with those in the assembly, but with people in Bilawal House,” he commented. “This is a constitutional crisis in Sindh that we are going through.”
Despite painting a distressing picture of the province, however, the minister ruled out the possibility of imposing governor’s rule in the province. “There is no provision for it in the Constitution,” he said, stressing the need for the apex court to ensure the implementation of Article 140-A of the Constitution.
“This is the responsibility of the Supreme Court,” he added.
Fawad Chaudhry said the NFC should then be awarded and “powerful” local governments, which could resolve local issues, should be set up under Article 140-A.
“Otherwise no district will get funds here,” he said, accusing the provincial government of handing contracts for projects to its favourite persons.
Highlighting the need to hold local government elections in line with Article 140-A, he said enforcement of the said provision would mean the administrative, financial and political devolution of power to the district level, and termed it the only means for Sindh’s rural and urban populations to get their due rights.
The minister also drew attention towards the leadership and other influential persons of Sindh entering plea bargain deals with the National Accountability Bureau. He claimed that the anti-graft watchdog had received the biggest sum in plea bargain deals from Sindh.
“And this amount is just this tip of the iceberg as the larger fraction of the sum has been sent to Dubai and London,” he remarked, referring to money laundering cases against PPP leaders Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur.
Law Student, School of Law, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad