‘Courts must avoid executive decisions’

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday urged the courts to 'avoid giving decisions on matters purely of administrative nature'.

In a message on social media, the minister wrote that the courts should avoid giving decisions on matters of administrative nature, otherwise the separation of powers theory would become ineffective.

“The decision that what will be the hospital slip fee has ultimately to be made by the Ministry of Health,” he tweeted. The information minister posted this message after a decision of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) to reverse the increase in the OPD fee of the Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar.

In another tweet, which was in response to the statement of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) that it can’t arrest anyone on the wish of any minister, Fawad Chaudhry objected to the tone of the statement. In a poetic manner, he said he was being criticised for his remarks, while those criticising him must also look at their own style of speech.

Meanwhile, talking to media persons in Karachi, Fawad Chaudhry ruled out the rumours of governor's rule in Sindh, and said 'change' in the province through constitutional way was on the cards and final approval would be given by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The minister said a constitutional change will overpower the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) with support of the coalition partners in the province.

“Report has been submitted in the Prime Minister’s office about the meeting with one of the coalition partners Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM),” he maintained. He said it is right of the people of Sindh that they run their political affairs and bring changes in them according to the Constitution.

The information minister once again asked the Pakistan People’s Party to remove Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah from the seat. He said if the PPP did not act, then change will be brought in the province with the cooperation of those who wanted a change in Sindh.

He said the political future of PPP in Sindh will not be different from that of the PML-N in Punjab. He said the PPP and its Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had no political future for the type of politics they practised to hoodwink the public. “PPP would be wiped out from Sindh as PML-N was taken to the cleaners in Punjab,” the minister vowed.

The minister said the government was trying to solve the problems of Karachi and said now the funds of Sindh will be spent for the betterment of its people. Lashing out at the recent coalition of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), he said both the parties had formed an alliance for restoration of corruption.

On Tuesday, Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry had said the rule of Asif Zardari and Omni group in Sindh has ended; the party was facing difficulty in keeping its MPAs intact in the province.

Referring to yesterday's meeting of the opposition parties at the Parliament House, the information minister said “We are also concerned over the establishment of alliance for restoration of corruption.” He said the National Accountability Bureau should take a decisive action against those involved in fake bank accounts case.