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Federal govt cannot take over control of Karachi's affairs: Saeed Ghani

Federal govt cannot take over control of Karachi's affairs: Saeed Ghani
September 12, 2019
KARACHI (92 News) – Responding to Federal Law Minister Frogh Naseem, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani said that the federal government cannot take control over the Karachi’s affairs. “Article 149 (4) does not authorize for taking over control the Karachi’s affairs,” the provincial minister said while talking to the 92 News. He also said that the centre can only give the directions but not take the control of provincial matters. Saeed Ghani also suggested the federal government that Article 149 (4) should be enforced in Punjab or in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) where law and order situation and economy were not good as compared to Sindh. “There was no need of enforcing the said article in Sindh, where situation was much better than other parts of the country,” he added. He said the issues of garbage and sewerage did not fall within the ambit of Article 149 (4). “The federal government can only give directives to the provincial government, but it cannot take over functions of the provincial government,” he said, warning that this would undermine provincial autonomy. He said Article 149 (4) did not give the federal government right to take over powers of the provincial government. On the other hand, the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) leader Murtaza Wahab said that the people from Karachi should not have any better hope from the federal government. Earlier, Federal Law Minister Farogh Naseem disclosed that the federal government is considering taking over the administrative control of Karachi by invoking Article 149(4) in Karachi. “The federation must take the administrative control of Karachi city for better administration. The strategic committee on Karachi was going to recommend to Prime Minister Imran Khan to invoke Article 149 for the uplift of Karachi,” the law minister informed. Farogh Naseem said that the federal was intending to invoke Article 149(4) in Karachi. “Neither does Article 149(4) speak of governor rule, nor of imposing an emergency,” he added.