President has no power to interfere in provincial matters: Sindh spokesperson

KARACHI: Sindh Law and Environment Adviser Barrister Murtaza Wahab has said that the President of Pakistan does possess the constitutional power to promulgate an ordinance but he (the president) doesn’t have the power to interfere in any provincial matter including the islands off the Karachi’s coast.

Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, Barrister Wahab, who also acts as the spokesman for the Sindh government, said that Article 1 of the Constitution of Pakistan clearly stated provincial governments owned the land in their respective jurisdictions.

He said the Article 47 of the Constitution clearly stated the authority of the president as land didn’t fall under the president’s domain of responsibility as being a provincial subject.

He said that islands off the Pakistan coastal strip were owned by the Sindh and Balochistan governments. He said the Article 172 of the Constitution was very clear on this issue as it established that the provinces owned the islands.

He said that if in case it was true that the two islands off the coast of Karachi falls under the jurisdiction of the federally controlled the Port Qasim Authority then the concerned federal authorities should know that the Sindh government was the ultimate owner of 10,000 acres land of the port.

“If in case the Centre owns these islands then for what cause they (the federal authorities) required our NOC? Does the federal government needs permission from Sindh if in case it has to carry out development works either in Islamabad or at the Port Qasim,” said Barrister Wahab.

He said that federal government's act of sending a letter to the Sindh government on the two islands also showed that the province owned these islands.

He said the Federal Communications Minister Murad Saeed had recently given misleading statement that the president had rightfully promulgated the ordinance to assert ownership of the two islands.

He said the incumbent communications minister instead of focusing on his main responsibility i.e. to improve the network of inter-city highways in the country under the aegis of the National Highway Authority, used to unduly issue statements to do political point-scoring.