The Sindh chief minister told the law adviser on Monday to finalise the draft of the Madaris Reforms Bill so that it could be tabled in the provincial assembly’s next session.
However, the CM's wish seems unlikely to be fulfilled with the next session slated for September 21 (tomorrow) and his law adviser, Murtaza Wahab, telling yesterday's cabinet meeting that though the administrations of various seminaries had recommended amendments, they had sought a week's time to finalise their suggestions.
In the meeting, Shah said he wanted the Madaris Reforms Bill (originally named Sindh Madressah Registration Bill, 2016) passed as soon as possible so that the religious seminaries in the province could be registered afresh.
The chief minister said Sindh was the land of Sufis and its people had always rejected fanaticism.
“But this time the situation is different,” he added. “The increasing clout of religious political parties, the mushroom growth of madrasas in the absence of regulations and legislation, the Balochistan factor, and poverty and illiteracy are the major factors behind the terrorist activities in the rural areas of the province.”
Briefing the cabinet on the recent attack on an imambargah in Khanpur, Shikarpur district, the IGP said the terrorists were entering Sindh from Balochistan to carry out attacks in the bordering towns of the province.
The chief minister said he had discussed the issue with his counterpart in Balochistan and the latter was ready to cooperate with the Sindh government so that a joint strategy could be chalked out to curb the terrorists’ movement.
"I have asked the IGP police to coordinate with his counterpart in Balochistan to develop a new mechanism to secure our border with the bordering province,” he told the cabinet.
Criminals in rural areas
The provincial government also decided to launch an operation against criminal gangs involved in kidnappings for ransom in the katcha area of Sukkur and Larkana divisions.
IGP AD Khowaja told the cabinet that some criminal gangs were active in the katcha area of Ghotki, Kashmore and Shikapur.
The chief minister said an operation should be launched against these gangs and their facilitators.
The cabinet allowed the IGP to launch the operation when he deemed it fit. The gangs active in the katcha area of Sukkur and Larkana divisions include Jhangal Teghani, Patho Narejo, Gulzar Jatoi, Shahnawaz Jatoi, Khair Mohammad Teghani, Belo Teghani, Sultoo Shar, Sharif Bahngwar, and Nawab Jagirani.
Shah also decided that the construction of Kandhkot-Ghotki Bridge on the Indus River should be started.
On the complaint of provincial minister Imdad Pitafi, the chief minister directed the IGP to launch a crackdown on criminals involved in selling or making illicit liquor and mainpuri, gutka and other harmful chewable tobacco items.
Energy secretary Agha Wasif briefing the cabinet on the outstanding electricity dues of Hesco and Sepco said the two power companies had claimed Rs128.4 billion - Rs61.31 billion of Hesco and Rs67.09 billion of Sepco - for the period from July 2010 to July 2016. The bills were so inflated that the provincial government had refused to pay.
The chief minister said in the capacity of the energy minister and now the provincial chief executive he had started a process of reconciliation with the federal government and reached a settlement on an amount of Rs78.21 billion.
“This is how I had saved over Rs50 billion of the people of Sindh,” he added.
The energy secretary said the provincial government had already paid Rs50.9 billion of the electricity bills and Rs27.31 billion were yet to be paid.
The cabinet urged the chief minister to bracket the issue of prolonged power outages in the rural areas of Sindh with the payment of bills.
The chief minister said the Centre was cooperating with his government and therefore he would take up power outages, installation of power meters and other issues with it.
Awareness drive
The cabinet also endorsed the proposal of wearing helmets while riding motorcycles. The police department would launch an awareness campaign for wearing helmets for a month and then take strict action.
The chief minister said that he was surprised that in other countries it was almost impossible for an underage person to have a driving licence but in our country, particularly in Sindh, even a child could obtain one. Similarly, he added, children’s enrolment in schools was quite easy in other countries but a major challenge for parents in Sindh.
“We have to change this system. There is dire need to introduce rigid laws for the issuance of driving licences to lower the increasing rate of road accidents and make the school admission system easy.”
The cabinet approved action against display of weapons, installation of police lights, loud horns and heavy lights, one-wheeling and acrobatic motorcycle riding demonstrations on the roads.
All provincial ministers, advisers and special assistants to the chief minister, chief secretary Siddique Memon, and advocate general Zameer Ghumro attended the meeting.
Later, provincial information adviser Moula Bakhsh Chandio told reporters that the operation in katcha area would be primarily conducted by police but Rangers would also assist them.
He said it was decided in the cabinet meeting that provincial government departments should decrease expenses incurred by them on account of using electricity and other utility services.