Lawmakers claims chief minister is only releasing funds to PPP members. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) issued notices on Monday to the provincial government on a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers against the alleged discrimination in the allocation of funds by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah.
The bench directed the advocate-general to file comments on behalf of the chief secretary, additional secretary for planning and development, principal secretary to the chief minister, and the chief of the Tameer-e-Pakistan Programme by June 10, when another identical petition will be taken up for hearing.
The petitioners, which included several PTI leaders such as Syed Hafeezuddin, Dr Arif Alvi, Samar Ali Khan, Dr Seema Yazdani Zia, Khurram Sher Zaman and Lal Chand, submitted that they are members of the national and the Sindh assemblies and have been elected from different constituencies of Karachi and Umerkot.
They told the two-judge bench that an amount of Rs40 million for development schemes to be identified by the MPAs and MNAs of Sindh was to be provided by the chief minister for the 2013-14 fiscal year.
The petitioners said that legislators were directed to submit proposals of the development schemes in their constituencies on the basis of the criteria mentioned in the letter.
Advocate Khalil Ahmed Siddiqui, who represented the PTI legislators, said that the petitioners, in compliance with the letter, had submitted their development schemes proposals, but their proposals are not being processed. "The respondents have even accorded approval to the proposals and funding to the schemes suggested by the senators of the ruling party, despite the fact that the issued notification does not provide for them," he pointed out. "The respondents' actions are not only in violation of the notification but are also discriminatory as funds are being released only to the approved schemes within the constituencies of the ruling party's legislators."
Siddiqui said that the respondent authorities have been instigated at the behest of the ruling party, which intends to discredit and malign the petitioners by depriving their constituencies of the development schemes' funds to try and ensure that they are not elected in the next general elections.
The respondents have infringed the petitioners' right to be treated in accordance with the law as provided in Article 4 of the Constitution, he argued, pleading to the court to order the authorities to allocate funds for the development schemes in their constituencies without any discrimination.
Headed by Justice Irfan Saadat, the bench issued notices to the respondents and AG Sindh to file their comments by June 10.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 10th, 2014.
COMMENTS (16)
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@Adnan Siddiqi: sustained development. that is why there was widespread rigging in the last general elections....because everyone thought pmln had done a good job.. sustainable development. punjabs gdp growth in the last fiscal year was lower than the national avg. why is that the case if they have done such a stellar job? sustainable development. handing out laptops... sustainable development. building an expensive metro bus system which is funded by.....tax revenues which could be used to improve law and order...oh wait, punjabi is the safest province where girls get raped, people get shot and bakery boys get beaten up and no one is held accountable. or to improve education so that individuals holding bachelor degrees dont have to work as cashiers at retail stores. why dont you just go back to doing nothing. you will get paid by pmlns social media team anyway. that is the pmln way. till it eventually blows up because of lack of vision..wait that is the pmln vision.
IK has not a single penny form the poor, the Sharifs have built a $billion dollar empire from kick backs-dont campare the KP govt with the crooks from punjab.
@Kamran Akmal:
Absolutely no comparison! Punjab has been on a path of sustained development since 2008 and PTI in KPK is having a hard time even completing the Mufti Mahmood flyover in Peshawar, construction of which was initiated by ANP's government.
http://thefrontierpost.com/article/49691/KP-is-half-a-hop-away-for-Shahbaz/ http://www.khybernews.tv/video_detail.php?id=MTY4
If you folks had refrained from spending billions of KPK taxpayer's funds on Jalsis and dharni gigs in Punjab, the plight of KPK might have been a whole lot different. One does not need to be in power 6 times to understand so basic. But then again, PTI and KPK are held hostage to the whims of a mad man sitting in his palatial abode of Goldsmith Mansion at Banigala.
@Omer Janjua:
In possession of a tampered brain is still far better than being a senseless and dimwit follower of a Fan Club. Going forward:
Plight of Mobile Court - http://www.awamiweb.com/mobile-court-experiment-failed-kpk-70938.html Online FIR system has already been initiated by the Punjab Government and is not so much of a big deal as supporters of PTI would claim it to be - http://punjabpolice.gov.pk/ecomplaintThe rest of the so called acheivements are only on paper and nothing tangible has happened till date in this regard. We will see those 300 small hydro power plant when they become operational.
@ Adnan Siddiqui Dont forget, we are governing for first time and you are here for sixth time, ruling punjab. There is no comparision
@ Adnan Siddiqi Plz read these steps now and memorize in your already tampered brain 1. Online FIR System started by PTI government is working actively in KPK. 2. There was a big security lapse at Dera Ismail Khan which created bad impact on PTI KPK government’s overall reputation but to fight such issues, government has started supplying modern weaponry and ammunition to the police of police stations. With that, PTI has also decided to form its own Intelligence Wing which is going to work actively against all terrorist activities and going to tackle foreign agencies. 3. Mobile Court is also one of the biggest achievements in the province. The motive of PTI was to provide fast justice, and it is wonderful idea upon which it has worked. The French report on Mobile Courts is amazing in KPK 4. Nearly 300 small Hydro Power plants are to be built in the province during 2013-2015. 5. PTI KPK government has announced to build Pakistan’s biggest Car village in Peshawar. Ministry of Housing has been ordered to provide 40 Acre Land for this project. Bargain Centers will be transferred to Car Village and for the convenience of costumers; Institute of Excise will also be built in the village. -
@Mohammed:
Please specify the steps taken till date to make KPK a solid welfare state. The only welfare provided till date in KPK is to the KPK Assembly Members whose salaries, allowances and perks have been jacked up by 200%
@Jamshed M:
The problem with followers of Deen-e-Imrani is that they have a memory of a squirrel. IK had claimed that if he ever came to power, he would completely elimate the practise of providing development funds to MPAs and MNAs and all the development related issues will be resolved through local bodies. Now one can say very conveniently that since IK did not come to power (we are thanking our lucky stars that he did not), hence there isn't much we could do. Its a matter of principle that one should stand and stay committed to his ideology, power or no power.
Instead of going to the courts and demanding fair distribution of development funds, PTIs Sindh Assembly parliamentarians should have prayed to the courts to make the Sindh Government hold local bodies elections as expeditiously as possible.
@Adnan Siddiqi:
How come this is the contradiction? IK's policy is not to provide development fund to MNA/MPA but rather do development on their recommendations. PPP's policy is to provide development fund to MPA rather than govt doing it for them. PPP is giving funds to its MPA's in sindh but not to PTI MPA's. So how u think PTI MPA's going to do development work in their constituency?
The PTI can only use the system that is in place in Punjab, we cant change it as we were cheated out of the election. If we were in power, the money would be spent on the welfare of the people and not go into the pockets of Mian and his coterie of crooks.
@Omer Janjua:
Whatever yoy may want to call it but this action is in direct contravention of the edict of Hazrat IK.
@ Adnan Siddiqui Are they demanding all this from PML(N) in punjab assembly. There is a reason for all this,its not for perks. Its more of a pressure tactics to keep sindh government checked and monitored
Wasn't IK an advocate of not giving a single penny of development funds to the parliamentarians and instead always envisaged that such funds would be allocated at town and tehsil levels to councillors? Again a U-Turn!
At first no funds should be given to any MNA or MPA but if its the way this Govt is going about then it should be equal for everyone.
Good thing is at least this is the first time in the democratic history of Pakistan that we actually have a real opposition.