Sindh sacks 12 out of 17 advisers

Sindh govt dismisses advisors in accordance to provisions given in the 18th amendment.

Amidst empty rhetoric of ‘rightsizing’ the federal cabinet and of austerity drives in the centre and in the provinces, the Sindh government took the initiative on Monday by showing the door to 12 of its advisers.

The Sindh government de-notified 12 advisers to the chief minister on Monday and said it has “obeyed” a provision given in the 18th Amendment to appoint only five people to these posts. In the present set-up there were 17 advisers, 13 special assistants and 45 ministers.

The dismissed advisers include: Sharmila Farooqui (information), Muhammad Ali Malkani (coastal development), Imtiaz Shaikh (tourism), Muhammad Siddique Abu Bhai, Jahangir Dilawar Khanji, Dinshaw Anklesaria, Babar Leghari, Muhammad Kamran Behan, Mufti Ferozuiddin Hazarvi, Sardar Aamir Khan Bhutto, Jameel Ahmed Soomro and Waqas Malik.

Talking to The Express Tribune, the spokesperson for the CM said that the decision was made in line with the 18th Amendment. He said that Sindh had already been suffering from financial constraints and this decision would prove helpful in reducing the load on it shoulders.

Regarding the plan to downsizing the ministries, he said there was no plan yet. Meanwhile, it has already been decided that this would be implemented by the next elections.

Meanwhile, sources in the government said that a constitutional petition was filed against the appointment of the advisers and the government was expecting a decision against it, which forced it to fire them. Sources said that the decision was made after President Asif Ali Zardari gave his consent on Saturday night.

Among the outgoing advisers, Imtiaz Shaikh and Babar Leghari belong to the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), while the rest are affiliated with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

Talking to The Express Tribune, Shaikh said the government had taken his party into confidence before removing them.

Five advisers who will continue their job include Rashid Rabbani (political affairs), Imamuddin Shauqeen (mines and minerals), Kaisar Bengali (planning and development), Zubair Motiwala (investment) and Khawaja Izhar-ul Hassan (without portfolio) of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1st, 2011.