KARACHI: Sindh Cabinet has unanimously rejected presidential ordinance under which Pakistan Islands Development Authority has been established and called upon the federal government to withdraw the ordinance at once..

The cabinet meeting was held under the chairmanship of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah here at CM House on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by ministers, advisors, chief secretary Mumtaz Shah and concerned secretaries. Minister Energy Imtiaz Shaikh attended the meeting through video link.

The cabinet was given a detailed briefing on the Ordinance promulgated on 31 August, 2020 by the President of Pakistan. The cabinet members in their comments on the ordinance said that it [the ordinance] was against the constitution of Pakistan. “The constitution establishes the ownership of the provincial government on the lands, the islands and the land in the sea located within its territorial jurisdiction,” the members said.

The cabinet said that the Ordinance has been promulgated in such a way as if the islands were the property of the federal government.

The cabinet said that the provincial government has laid down some parameters for the development which include the islands would remain the property of the provincial government, the terms and condition of the development projects would be shared with the provincial government and the interest of the local population would be safeguarded.

The cabinet said that the ordinance, setting aside the conditions set by Sindh government, declared the islands located in the territorial jurisdiction of the Sindh and Balochistan as the property of the federal government.

The provincial cabinet said that the ordinance as an attempt trample the rights of people of Sindh. The cabinet decided to write a letter to the federal government with the insistence to withdraw the ordinance which has denied the rights of the provincial government and its people.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020