Islamabad - The Sindh government has reportedly written a fresh letter to the centre insisting that it had curtailed some of Rangers' powers in exercise of autonomy.
Published: Fri 25 Dec 2015, 11:00 PM
Last updated: Sat 26 Dec 2015, 10:58 AM
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will visit Karachi on Monday amid growing tensions between the federal and provincial governments over the issue of extension of powers of Rangers in Karachi by the interior ministry overriding their abridgment by the Sindh government.
The provincial government has taken exception to the fresh letter from the interior ministry which laid down that the Rangers in Karachi will exercise the same policing powers as before irrespective of the Sindh Assembly resolution which set some preconditions requiring its prior permission before raiding any office or arresting anybody on charges other than terrorism including suspected funding for terrorists. The Sindh government has reportedly written a fresh letter to the centre insisting that it had curtailed some of Rangers' powers in exercise of autonomy granted by the constitution.
The new letter comes in the wake of an angry public statement by Co-chairman of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Asif Ali Zardari, who termed the extension of Rangers' special powers by the federal government as "unconstitutional invasion of Sindh".
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had on Tuesday unconditionally restored Rangers' powers for two months, setting aside a summary of the Sindh government evolved after a resolution in the provincial assembly to limit the force's powers.
"The central government trampled the principle of constitutionalism by invading the province of Sindh, (which is) against the letter and spirit of the constitution," the former president said in his statement on the 139th birth anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah.
In his statement issued on Thursday, the former president strongly criticised the centre for rejecting the provincial government's proposal to limit powers of the paramilitary force.
Without directly naming anyone, he asked the people to adhere to the Quaid's principles of democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law to forever banish the extremist mindset. "The Father of the Nation envisioned a democratic and progressive Pakistan, where there will be constitutionalism and rule of law, and where every citizen will have equal opportunities to advance without any prejudice of religion, caste and creed," Zardari stated. "The need to follow this philosophy was never as great as it is now."
The PPP leader called upon the people to forge unity in their ranks and reject any attempt to undermine the constitution.
Information Minister Parvez Rashid, however, lamented that Zardari has been unfair in labelling federal government's action unconstitutional. He said almost all but a small part of Sindh government's demand have been accepted by the centre.
Policing powers of the paramilitary
> Sindh government has taken exception to the fresh letter from the interior ministry which laid down that the Rangers in Karachi will exercise the same policing powers as before irrespective of the Sindh Assembly resolution
> Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had on Tuesday unconditionally restored Rangers' powers for two months, setting aside a summary of the Sindh government evolved after a resolution in the provincial assembly to limit the force's powers.
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