Deputy commissioners to be empowered to impose Section 144

Sindh govt to restore powers removed during General (retd) Musharraf’s tenure

KARACHI: After 16 years, the Sindh government has decided to handover powers to impose Section 144 to deputy commissioners, allowing them to deal with emergency situations and issue orders in urgent cases of public nuisance or suspected danger. The government plans to introduce a law to ensure this.

These powers were earlier given under the Code of Criminal Procedure to local bodies’ nazims in former army chief General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s tenure to prohibit assembly of five or more persons, holding of public meetings, carrying of firearms or imposing bans on pillion riding among other things.

Officials in the provincial law department told The Express Tribune that these powers, which are currently being enjoyed by the home department, can be invoked for up to two months. “Apart from this, the government is considering reviving the magisterial powers of deputy commissioners, which were abolished around 16 years ago,” sources said, adding that under this the deputy commissioner and sub-divisional magistrate could take action against price hikes, encroachments, hoardings and violations of traffic rules.



Demands have poured in from various stakeholders to revive the magisterial powers of deputy commissioners who can take action on the spot by punishing profiteers as well as violators of the law by sending them to prison.

Advocate-General Zameer Ghumro said that the government initially is restoring the deputy commissioners’ powers to impose Section 144. He said after the devolution plan, the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, 2001 was promulgated and nazims were empowered to impose Section 144 to deal with emergencies. “Even though the 2001 law has been repealed, no one has amended it and home department issues Section 144 orders. We now want to make an amendment, delegating these powers from the home department to the deputy commissioners concerned,” he said, adding that after the law is amended, the deputy commissioners will be able to impose Section 144 in their respective districts.

Talking about the case of the inspector-general of police, the advocate general said the issue will be discussed in the upcoming Cabinet meeting scheduled tomorrow (Saturday).  He said the incumbent IG is a grade 21 officer but works on grade 22 on own pay scale (OPS) basis, which is prohibited by the Supreme Court.



“The Supreme Court has given a decision against officers working on OPS and the Sindh government, complying with the order, has removed almost all junior officers working on senior posts, so there is a dire need to comply with the court order in the IG case too,” he said, adding that recently a senior police officer, Abdul Majeed Dasti, was promoted to grade 22, making him senior than the IG.

“The Cabinet will discuss this issue and inform the court and federal government,” Ghumro said, adding that after the 18th Amendment it is the provincial government’s mandate to recommend the name of the IG and federal government has to notify it.