Left out: Bureaucrats, govt keeping me out of the loop: Khosa
Governor complains that officials not briefing him on flood plans.
LAHORE:
Governor Sardar Latif Khosa will lodge a formal complaint to the federal government against District Management Group and Police Service of Pakistan officers serving in the Punjab for not briefing him on important issues.
Talking to reporters here at Governor’s House on Saturday, Khosa said that PSP and DMG officers were employees of the federal government but didn’t keep him, the federal government’s representative in Punjab, up to date on pertinent issues.
He said that he had asked for a briefing on the preparations made by the provincial government ahead of probable floods, but no official had turned up to brief him on the matter.
“I am told that the officials concerned haven’t received any information from the Punjab government, even though I wrote a letter asking for a briefing. Under Article 131 of the Constitution, the provincial government is bound not only to inform the governor of all administrative issues, but also take his advice on them. This practice isn’t being followed in Punjab. Being a representative of the Centre, I have to update the Centre, but I am not being updated on important matters,” he added.
Citing 'A Rude Awakening', the report of a judicial inquiry led by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah into breaches in the flood defences on the Indus last summer, the governor said that disciplinary action had been recommended against certain officials, but no action had been taken.
He said that the report recommended not just departmental action against the officials under service rules but also criminal action under Sections 166 and 167 of the Pakistan Penal Code. “Contrary to the report’s recommendation that the irrigation secretary be suspended from service, he has been posted as industries secretary,” he said.
“This judicial commission’s report was released in April. It was kept in cold storage despite the recommendation by the honourable judge to publish it immediately,” he said. “Under the 19th Amendment, right to information is a basic right.” Khosa said that poor management had made the floods much more devastating than they should have been. He said the Supreme Court’s instructions regarding flood preparations should also be implemented.
The governor said he wanted to know how the Punjab government’s plans to fight floods this year. “Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif should now return from London ... All I want is to work together and to know what the plan is to deal with any emergency situation if the floods come again,” he added.
He said he had called the inspector general (IG) of Punjab Police seeking a briefing on the situation in Mianwali, where riots broke out over load-shedding, but he had been told that the IG was in Raiwind. “I thought Shahbaz Sharif had come and that was why the IG was in Raiwind. But he was there for Nawaz Sharif Sahib,” he said.
Punjab government spokesman Senator Pervaiz Rashid told The Express Tribune that under the Constitution, the chief minister is supposed to brief the governor on important issues.
“The governor should have waited for the chief minister. He himself will brief him on important issues. There is no point in calling government officials for briefings. The governor should follow the Constitution and shouldn’t try to become martial law administrator. He should stay in his legal boundaries. The chief minister will give him a briefing when he returns from London,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2011.
Governor Sardar Latif Khosa will lodge a formal complaint to the federal government against District Management Group and Police Service of Pakistan officers serving in the Punjab for not briefing him on important issues.
Talking to reporters here at Governor’s House on Saturday, Khosa said that PSP and DMG officers were employees of the federal government but didn’t keep him, the federal government’s representative in Punjab, up to date on pertinent issues.
He said that he had asked for a briefing on the preparations made by the provincial government ahead of probable floods, but no official had turned up to brief him on the matter.
“I am told that the officials concerned haven’t received any information from the Punjab government, even though I wrote a letter asking for a briefing. Under Article 131 of the Constitution, the provincial government is bound not only to inform the governor of all administrative issues, but also take his advice on them. This practice isn’t being followed in Punjab. Being a representative of the Centre, I have to update the Centre, but I am not being updated on important matters,” he added.
Citing 'A Rude Awakening', the report of a judicial inquiry led by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah into breaches in the flood defences on the Indus last summer, the governor said that disciplinary action had been recommended against certain officials, but no action had been taken.
He said that the report recommended not just departmental action against the officials under service rules but also criminal action under Sections 166 and 167 of the Pakistan Penal Code. “Contrary to the report’s recommendation that the irrigation secretary be suspended from service, he has been posted as industries secretary,” he said.
“This judicial commission’s report was released in April. It was kept in cold storage despite the recommendation by the honourable judge to publish it immediately,” he said. “Under the 19th Amendment, right to information is a basic right.” Khosa said that poor management had made the floods much more devastating than they should have been. He said the Supreme Court’s instructions regarding flood preparations should also be implemented.
The governor said he wanted to know how the Punjab government’s plans to fight floods this year. “Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif should now return from London ... All I want is to work together and to know what the plan is to deal with any emergency situation if the floods come again,” he added.
He said he had called the inspector general (IG) of Punjab Police seeking a briefing on the situation in Mianwali, where riots broke out over load-shedding, but he had been told that the IG was in Raiwind. “I thought Shahbaz Sharif had come and that was why the IG was in Raiwind. But he was there for Nawaz Sharif Sahib,” he said.
Punjab government spokesman Senator Pervaiz Rashid told The Express Tribune that under the Constitution, the chief minister is supposed to brief the governor on important issues.
“The governor should have waited for the chief minister. He himself will brief him on important issues. There is no point in calling government officials for briefings. The governor should follow the Constitution and shouldn’t try to become martial law administrator. He should stay in his legal boundaries. The chief minister will give him a briefing when he returns from London,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2011.