Daily Times

“There is no such thing as governance in Sindh,” said the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, on Wednesday, while hearing a case regarding the deaths of children in Mithi and Tharparkar.

Criticising the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) tenure, Justice Nisar said that a private hospital report had blamed the former provincial government’s negligence for the deaths of children in Mithi and Tharparkar.

“Where is former Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah?” asked the CJP.

“If he is in town, ask him to appear before the court to apprise us of his performance,” he continued.

Justice Nisar asked if Murad Ali Shah was planning on contesting in the upcoming elections given his prior performance.

“There is a visible difference in the lack of development in Sindh as compared to other provinces,” the CJP asserted.

Responding to this, Sindh Health Secretary Fazal Pechuho told the court, “If the chief secretary listens to me I can do something.”

“The entire system has been destroyed and how much can I do all by myself?” Pechuho said.

Justice Nisar then asked Pechuho, “Who was your superior and is there anybody more senior than the chief minister (CM)?”

“You are related to the most powerful person in the province. Was he informed by you regarding the situation?” he continued.

“Children of poor people have died and your government is to blame,” the CJP told Pechuho.

To this, the bench observed that there was a lack of doctors and medical experts in Sindh.

“The situation cannot improve till more doctors and medical experts are hired,” it said.

Justice Nisar also asked Sindh’s Health Secretary Fazal Pechuho how many doctors and medical experts were required in the province.

“We had been recommended to hire of 6,000 doctors and medical experts. The issue is that doctors from Karachi do not want to go to Thar,” Pechuho informed the court. The CJP then inquired why doctors and medical experts had not been hired following the recommendations. “Who is to blame for this?” he asked while asking how the interim government and the top court could help.

Justice Saqib Nisar then instructed the Sindh Public Service Commission to hire doctors and “medical experts on an urgent basis.

The demand for doctors in Tharparkar should be met within two months,” said the CJP.

The CJP also ordered the provincial government to establish a drug testing laboratory within a course of two months. The apex court also formed a commission to investigate the actions taken by the Sindh Ministry of Health.

The court then ordered Additional Inspector General (IG) of the Counter-Terrorism Department Sanaullah Abbasi to determine who was responsible for the deaths of the children and produce a report within two weeks time. “Is there anything that is being done right in Sindh?” the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar had asked the provincial advocate general during the hearing of a suo motu case earlier on Wednesday.

Luxury vehicles

The Supreme Court had taken a suo motu notice of the use of luxury vehicles by federal and provincial ministers and government officers beyond their entitlement.

During the hearing of the case at the top court’s Karachi Registry, Justice Nisar asked the provincial advocate general if any work in Sindh is being done in adherence to the law.

Justice Nisar’s remarks came after the Sindh Advocate General Barrister Zameer Hussain Ghumro informed the three-judge bench that 149 luxury vehicles being used by ministers and other officials beyond their entitlement had been recovered from the Sindh government.

The CJP then inquired where the recovered cars had been parked and if there was a framework regarding their use in the future.

“There is a central pool of cars and we have prepared a framework regarding the use of the vehicles,” the Sindh advocate general stated while producing the provincial government’s notification on the use of recovered luxury vehicles in court. The Sindh advocate general then informed the court that as per the notification, the luxury vehicles had been permitted for use for field work and special assignments.

“Rs25 000 per day will be charged for the use of vehicles for field work and special assignments,” said the advocate general. “This means that the Sindh government will now be renting out cars,” responded the CJP.

“All this work is being done on the basis of ill-intentions,” said the CJP.

“The notification allows ministers to use the vehicles all day long,” Justice Nisar announced before declaring the notification null and void. The CJP then adjourned the hearing of the case till June 28.

Allotment of govt land

While hearing the petition of private persons later on Wednesday, the CJP promised that he would ensure transparency in lease and allotment of government land for commercial purposes.

The CJP also noted that state land could not be allocated for commercial purposes without auction.

A three-member bench headed by the Chief Justice was hearing the petitions of private persons and companies seeking relaxation of court stay order on mutation, allotment and conversion of state land at the Supreme Court Karachi Registry when the CJP remarked that the land mafia had encroached government’s land.

He said that the court would not allow sale of land at throwaway prices and an open auction must be conducted for allotment of land. “We will not allow allotment of land [to anyone] without ensuring transparency,” CJP Nisar said, adding, “I’ve been a judge for 21 years, I know how everything works.” While hearing a petition from a private energy project, the bench barred the allotment of 524 acres of government land for installation of the project. The court asked for details regarding the lease and allotment of government land across Sindh.

Published in Daily Times, June 21^st 2018.