PM tasks AGP to allay Sindh govt’s concerns
Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed desire to maintain a working relationship with the PPP led Sindh government and has tasked the state’s top law officer to ally the provincial government’s concerns about various issues including Pakistan Islands Development Authority (PIDA) Ordinance, 2020.
PM Imran on Wednesday held a brainstorming session with Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Javed Khan and discussed several legal matters including PIDA ordinance through which the federal government aims at taking control of two islands along Karachi’s coast.
President Dr Arif Alivi on September 1 promulgated the ordinance for establishing “Pakistan Islands Development Authority” for “development and management of islands in internal and territorial waters of Pakistan”. Its ultimate objective was stated to be development of cities on the islands.
This ordinance surfaced on social media on October 3 whipping up a storm in Sindh with regional newspapers carrying its reports as their lead stories and a number of political leaders, including that of the PPP, condemning the move and calling it an attempt to encroach on Sindh's land.
Amid calls to withdraw the ordinance, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had equated the Centre’s move to take control of the islands with Indian move to annex the occupied Kashmir.
According to sources privy to the meeting, the premier on Wednesday tasked AGP Khan to negotiate with the PPP led Sindh government and address their concerns about the ordinance.
The AGP will leave for Karachi today (Thursday) and will appear before the Sindh High Court (SHC) which is taking up a case related to the ownership of two Islands on Friday.
Sources said the federal government has no intention to impose a governor’s rule in the province. The AGP will likely meet with senior functionaries of the provincial government in the next couple of days.
Khalid Javed Khan, whose integrity is beyond doubts, also belongs to the province of Sindh. He is the son of PPP leader N D Khan and has worked as one of the advisers of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto during her term as a prime minister from 1993-1996.
Talking to The Express Tribune, AGP Khalid Javed Khan said the PM wants a working relationship with the Sindh government. Political analysts believe that that is major shift in the federal government policy
They said there are several reasons behind this policy of harmony.
Firstly, if the tension between the Centre and Sindh continues then the Karachi Transformation Plan (KTP) – announced by the premier last month – may be affected. Secondly, there is anger in Sindh against the federal government over promulgation of the ordinance on ownership of islands.
They said the federal government will also try to engage with the Sindh government in order to create a rift within the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) – an alliance of 11 opposition parties – which is holding public rallies across Pakistan.
Even a section within the federal government believes that the PTI should have evolved an alliance with the PPP in the Centre soon after formation of the federal government because the ruling party’s main rival is the PML-N in the province of Punjab.
Both the parties had jointly contested polls for Senate chairman and deputy chairman and the PPP had not voted for the PML-N’s candidates during the elections of the prime minister and the president.
If the PTI had managed to form an alliance with the PPP, the government would have no problem in legislative work as the PPP has great experience in running the parliament.
“If you talk about corruption then similar allegations are leveled against the PML-Q and the MQM, which are our allies in the Centre as well as Punjab,” said a senior PTI leader, who was in favour of an alliance with PPP soon after the general election in 2018.
PM, AGP meeting
The premier and the AGP on Wednesday also discussed strategies for resolving tax related cases pending at different tribunals and courts. Reportedly, Rs1.856 trillion of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) are stuck due to litigation in various courts for years.
The premier discussed strategies and measures for resolving the pending cases with the AGP as almost half of the total revenue of Rs3.9 trillion collected in the country last year is stuck in litigation.
FBR Chairman Javed Ghani had informed the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) the other day that cases involving recovery of Rs117 billion are pending in the Supreme Court, Rs136b in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Rs228b in the Lahore High Court, Rs134b in the SHC, Rs169b in the Peshawar High Court and Rs602 million in the Balochistan High Court.
To add insult to injury, he disclosed, the appellant tribunals have been non-functional for two years.
Though the AGP is currently representing the federal government in the Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case, the official statement did not mention the case.
The government had sought the IHC’s help in appointing a lawyer for the Indian spy to review and reconsider the verdict of the military court in accordance with the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Jadhav has refused to file a review petition to reconsider the verdict.
[WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM RIZWAN SHEHZAD]