Centre vs Sindh: PM to placate Sindh govt over Rangers spat

Sources say the prime minister will fly to Karachi next week

ISLAMABAD:

As fissures between the federal and Sindh government deepened over restoring special powers for paramilitary Rangers in the province, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to fly to the megalopolis early next week to defuse the situation.

An official at the PM House in Islamabad told The Express Tribune on Wednesday that Nawaz is scheduled to fly to Karachi on Monday and hold talks with Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah. Further, the prime minister will visit Port Qasim and attend an event organised by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI).



Ties between Islamabad and Karachi deteriorated after the federal government rejected a summary by the Sindh government on limiting powers for the paramilitary Rangers, forcing them to seek permission from the Sindh chief secretary before arresting a government official.

Instead, the interior ministry on Tuesday issued a notification which bulldozed Sindh’s summary and restored special powers to the paramilitary force.

The move drew sharp criticism from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which still holds sway in Sindh. Senators of the party on Wednesday accused the government of infringing on the province’s autonomy and interfering in its affairs as it staged a walkout of the upper house of parliament.



However, an official at the PM House said that Sindh has few options. He argued that in light of the prevailing law and order situation in the city, the provincial government has a weak case if it opted to move the superior courts.  For the same reason, the provincial government could ill-afford to totally withdraw the paramilitary Rangers, he said.

The last option that the Sindh government has, the official maintained, was a return of ‘business as usual’ in the province with Rangers fully empowered under Section 4 of the Anti-Terror Act 1997.

Meanwhile, sources in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) reveal that Nawaz is using a two-pronged strategy to tackle the issue. While the premier will be journeying to the port city to personally resolve the differences with Sindh, he has tasked his closest of aides to approach PPP’s senior leadership to defuse the tensions.

Separately, sources said Nawaz has directed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to reach out to leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah and Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani to repair ties.



On the other hand, sources in the Sindh government say the PPP has asked Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah to raise Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s solo flight over Rangers’ powers with the prime minister.

While hoping that next week’s meeting helps resolve the situation, the PM House official offered that after Nawaz and Shah’s meeting another meeting between the interior minister and the Sindh chief minister is also expected.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2015.