JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA: After a long time, the residents of Sindh, especially those living in Karachi and other urban centres, have heard some really good news. Governor of Sindh Dr Ishratul Ebad has issued an ordinance wherein wall-chalking and defacing of buildings will be a punishable offence. Any person/ group responsible for defacing private and public property through wall-chalking will be liable for six months’ imprisonment and a fine. The most important part of the ordinance is making the accused person/group responsible for repairing the property to bring it back to its original state.
None of us is interested in knowing whether we have to go to Nishtar Park or Landhi to attend a conference, why friendship with America and India is dangerous for the country, and neither do we want to be influenced by the prospective assembly members’ slogans and pledges nor want to know where all these spiritual alims/pirs can be found to address our financial, education and marital issues.
We presume that the authorities concerned will take action to implement this ordinance with immediate effect. The government needs to make it less bureaucratic by not requiring the property owner to first lodge a complaint with the police to take action. Instead, there should be a squad of local government officials supported by the police to apprehend the culprits. We hope that the upcoming assembly will not let this important ordinance lapse without making it into a law.
Masood Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, April 30th, 2013.
