Interior Minister Rehman ‘Viceroy’ Malik has struck again: despite the Sindh government deciding otherwise, Malik arrived in Karachi on June 19 for a meeting on many issues of significance but trumpeted the conclusion of the meeting beforehand. Neither were the Rangers’ powers nor their funds allocation were being clipped, the viceroy announced. And Sindh’s elected legislators had no agency, he inferred.
The Sindh cabinet had approved a budget for fiscal year 2011-12 on June 10; the budget was subsequently presented in the Sindh Assembly the same day by Finance Minister Murad Ali Shah. The next day, in his post-budget briefing, the finance minister was flanked by four others with portfolios: Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Electric Power Minister Shazia Marri, Youth Minister Faisal Subzwari, and Chief Minister’s Advisor on Planning and Development Kaiser Bengali. Post-budget discussions are still continuing in the Sindh Assembly.
The finance minister claimed on the floor of Sindh Assembly that the provincial government had stopped direct funding to Pakistan Rangers-Sindh from the forthcoming financial year. Henceforth, he said, funds for the Rangers would be released through the Sindh Home Department.
Shah had disclosed that the Sindh government has also reduced the Rangers funds from Rs 1 billion to Rs 360 million, and also abolished the Inter-Security Allowance for Rangers personnel deployed in Sindh. He said that the Federal government was already providing Rs 6.5 billion to the Rangers every year.
While the finance minister did not elaborate on the reasons for curtailing the Rangers’ funds, it is believed that the PPP-led coalition government wants to gradually strengthen the police. Some Rs 31.46 billion have been reserved for the Sindh Police in the new budget, which is a 2.41 percent increase as compared to last year’s allocation.
“Allocations for Pakistan Rangers and Frontier Constabulary as separate cost centres has been discontinued, and in order to meet their essential emergency expenditure, separate allocations have been provided in Home Department’s budget. This will ensure Home Department’s oversight and supervision on functioning of both the paramilitary forces”, the minister had stated in his post-budget speech.
These decisions had the stamp of the Sindh cabinet, but in one stroke, Malik humiliated both the cabinet and members of the Sindh Assembly by announcing that Rangers’ powers and budget will not be reduced in Karachi. Malik’s desires were entertained by a flexible Qaim Ali Shah, who decided with the viceroy that the Sindh cabinet were indeed fools to clip the Rangers’ wings.
A press release was subsequently issued from the CM House, explaining that the Sindh government had reviewed its earlier stand of reducing the Rangers’ budget and asking them to vacate the historic Jinnah Courts building which they were using as their headquarters. Neither were there powers being clipped nor were they required to vacate Jinnah Courts. And hence, the Sindh government returned to the Rangers’ side.
Insiders told Pakistan Today that many in the Sindh government and PPP are unhappy with Malik’s attitude. Sources said that many party office bearers believe that this act of Malik’s was a ‘technical move’ as Dr Zulfiqar Mirza is on leave and that the interior minister wanted to exert his weight on Sindh. Sources said that another controversial decision was made as a controversial officer in Sindh, Wajid Durani, was sent to Sindh as the inspector general of Sindh police.