Museums cannot be devolved, argues petitioner

Petitioner argues that devolving the museum to the province is a violation of the 1973 Constitution.

KARACHI:

In a constitutional petition challenging the transfer of the National Museum, Karachi, to the Sindh culture department, the petitioner has argued that museums cannot be devolved.

During the hearing on Thursday, Sindh High Court Chief Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Syed Azhar Hassan Rizvi put the attorney general of Pakistan, Sindh advocate general and other respondents on notice for a date to be fixed later by the office of the court.

Senior lawyer Abrar Hasan, counsel for petitioner Altaf Shakoor of Pasban and Rafiq Ahmed, argued that devolving the museum to the province is a violation of the 1973 Constitution. Museums are on the ‘Federal Legislative List’ and not on the Concurrent list, he argued.

The petitioner questions a notification issued on April 5 by a deputy secretary of the culture department. The notification said that after the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, the department of archaeology and museums has to be transferred to the provinces, and hence, the National Museum comes under the jurisdiction of the provincial culture department. He asked the court to hold that devolution as illegal and void.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2011.