Local government elections: Sindh govt insists on retaining delimitation powers

KARACHI:

The Sindh government has expressed its inability to honour the Supreme Court's (SC) judgment asking to hand over delimitation powers to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

While addressing the provincial assembly session on Friday, Local Government Minister Sharjeel Memon said that the SC order was unconstitutional and discriminatory in nature. The minister's statements have, in effect, jeopardised the fate of the local bodies election in the province. On March 19, the SC had ordered all provincial governments to hold local bodies elections by November 15. According to Memon, the courts were the reason the local bodies elections have yet to take place.

During his speech, Memon criticised the apex court's decision and said, "We will not accept the unconstitutional demand of the court to hand over delimitation powers to the ECP nor are we bound to accept any extra-judicial order." He added that the SC issued one directive and the high court said something else.

"The local government election will not be held in Sindh until or unless the courts clarify this," said Memon, adding that in Balochistan, the delimitation powers lie with the provincial government and the apex court was insisting that the rest of the provinces surrender this power to the election commission.

"These double standards are not acceptable. The courts cannot dictate the national assembly and provincial assemblies on different issues."

Memon was responding to a call-attention notice submitted by Muttahida Qaumi Movement's Kamran Akhtar about local government election in the province.

Teachers' appointments

The teachers protest issue was raised by opposition leader Shaharyar Mahar. He said that thousands of teachers were appointed during the last Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government for the general elections and voter verification process but they were denied salaries for months. "When these teachers gathered at Bilawal House, the police baton-charged at the protesting teachers and many were arrested," he said.

In response, Sindh Education Minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that during the party's previous term, departmental committees were formed at every district to fill 1,400 vacancies but the merit was violated and around 13,000 to 14,000 teachers were appointed by officials. "Soon after the reports appeared in the media, we formed a committee to look into the matter," he said. "We found massive discrepancies in the recruitment process. Most of the teachers didn't even appear for the written test or interviews."

He added that subsequently his department had no option but to write to the accountant general of Sindh to stop their salaries. "They have now challenged our decision in the court and the case is sub-judice," he said adding that the Sindh government had lifted the ban on government jobs and requested the teachers to appear for the exams and get the jobs on merit.

An adjournment motion regarding the drought in Tharparkar was on the agenda but was withdrawn by the opposition leader. Mahar claimed that it had become an old issue. "I had submitted the motion in August but the situation is normal now so I would like to withdraw it," he said.

The session was prorogued by the deputy speaker for an indefinite time.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2014.