Discord between Sindh & Centre

Let us hope PM Nawaz will be able to cool down the tempers and find a way out of this political logjam

By rejecting the resolution passed by the Sindh Assembly calling for keeping the Rangers within the mandate they were allowed to operate in Karachi, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has seemingly succeeded in adding high-octane fuel to a flickering fire. Former president Asif Ali Zardari has called this rejection an act of invasion of Sindh by the Centre. Before taking a position on this confrontation, which seems to be more political in nature than a purely constitutional matter, it should be clearly recognised that since the launching of the Rangers’ operation in Karachi against the militant groups of political parties, extortionists, people indulging in kidnappings for ransom and terrorism, the law and order situation in the city has improved greatly. And no one seems to want the Rangers to withdraw entirely from the city before completing their job. In fact, while rejecting the resolution of the Sindh Assembly, the interior minister has ensured that the 60-day extension granted by the provincial government remained intact.



What has, however, become the bone of contention between the provincial government and the federal interior minister is the powers of the Rangers to also investigate corruption related to terror-financing. While there is an urgent need to investigate such crimes, there is a belief that this should not come under the Rangers’ ambit, given that ideally this is something best handled by civilian agencies. This may be true, but then most of our civilian law-enforcement agencies, such as the FIA, the Intelligence Bureau, NAB and the police have in the past not displayed that they possess the capacity to unearth and prosecute white-collar crimes successfully. The need of the hour is that while the federal government seriously tries to enhance the capacities of the first three agencies for the purpose of unearthing terror-financing related crimes, the Sindh government on its part would need to build up the capacity and neutrality of its police force to perform the job that the Rangers are doing. So far, however, it hasn’t provided us with an effective, alternative mechanism. Meanwhile, let us hope Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would be able to cool down the tempers and find a way out of this political logjam.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2015.

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