Minister asks government to transfer ports management to provinces

The Inter-Provincial Co-ordination (IPC) Division has asked the Federal Government to transfer financial and administrative powers of ports to the respective provinces.
Talking to newsmen on Saturday, Salim Saifullah Khan, Minister for Inter-Provincial Co-ordination said at the launching of IPC web-site that ports management is a provincial subject, which should be handed over to the provinces to strengthen the federating units.
He said that all homework on the bill regarding provincial autonomy had been completed and would be placed shortly before the Cabinet for approval. He said that it was the right time to accord autonomy to the provinces to strength them.
Draft papers related to the provincial autonomy, formulated by the PkMAP MQM and some PPPP legislators would also be considered in the Provincial Autonomy Bill, he added.
"It is not a problem of the government only; rather it is a common issue and all political and nationalist parties should come forward to evolve consensus on the provincial autonomy," he added.
"Our government would make utmost efforts to get the Provincial Autonomy Bill passed by the present assembly", he said. The Minister recalled that due to IPC recommendations, the federal government had already granted fisheries rights to respective provinces.
He said that like many other countries, the federating units here should also be empowered to administer ports affairs, and added that IPC has already recommended this to the government.
In the next meeting of the IPC, scheduled to be held in Quetta, the issue of jobs quota for NWFP would be taken up. The IPC has also asked to clear all outstanding dues of the provinces pending with the federal government, he added.
He said he was optimistic that the IPC Division would clear the reservations of all provinces, and added that it had held four meetings since its establishment in March 2006 for resolving the outstanding issues. Earlier, he launched the web-site of the Ministry ie www.ipc.gov.pk, where all information related to water distribution, provincial autonomy, linkages with other provinces and other vital information had been uploaded.