Save Karachi from Malik, shouts Riaz

The government’s troubleshooter, Interior Minister Rehman Malik finally came under fire in the meeting of the federal cabinet on Wednesday for his failure to control law and order in the country, particularly in Karachi, when Minister for Professional and Technical Training Riaz Hussain Pirzada of the PML-Q criticised Malik and held him responsible for “what the country is faced with today.”
After the federal cabinet finished its business and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani opened the House for discussion on the Karachi situation, Pirzada expressed concern over the unrest in the country’s financial powerhouse and said it was unfortunate that the government had chosen an “inept and incompetent” person to handle the most complex issue. “Rehman Malik is fond of creating hype in the media by making reckless statements and adopting a look-busy-do-nothing posture,” a cabinet source told Pakistan Today.
The source said everyone was taken aback when Pirzada hit hard and went to the extent of saying that “the man who cannot deliver has been decorated with Nishan-e-Imtiaz.” It was the second successive cabinet meeting which saw ministers criticising Malik for mishandling the Karachi situation as only two days ago, Sindh Senior Minister Zulfiqar Mirza had entered into a verbal spat with Malik, asking him not to intervene in provincial matters.
The source said Pirzada did not stop there and went on to ask what had Malik achieved for which he had been awarded? “Please Mr prime minister, don’t let him create mess in Karachi and don’t allow him visit the troubled city so that peace can be restored there,” the source quoted Pirzada as saying. He said Pirzada also raised the issue of shortage of officials and resources in the newly-formed ministries, saying the federal government was not providing necessary staff and resources to the new ministries.
Citing the details about the refusal by provincial governments to accommodate the NHCD and NEC employees, he said the provincial governments were violating the Constitution by not accepting the devolved ministries and relevant staff which was also decided in the Council for Common Interest (CCI). “The provinces have returned the trash to the federal government by refusing to accommodate the liabilities while accepting the resource-rich ministries,” the source quoted the minister.
He said Religious Affairs Minister Khurshid Shah also supported Pirzada’s views, and said the Sindh government had conveyed its eagerness to accept the NCHD which was run by Nafeesa Shah, the daughter of the Sindh chief minister, but had refused to accept the National Education Foundation (NEF). Gilani also told the cabinet meeting that former minister Raza Rabbani had written a letter to him against the formation of new ministries, claiming that the premier could not form new ministries without the approval of the cabinet and parliament, the source said, adding that then Cabinet Secretary Nargis Sethi read out the rules of business, stating that the prime minister had authority to merge, bifurcate or divide the ministries.
Water and Power Minister Naveed Qamar also told the meeting that the provinces would have to accommodate the devolved subjects and the decision was accepted by all provinces at the CCI meeting, the source added. The source quoted the prime minister as saying that the provinces were bound to accept the devolved divisions under the 18th Amendment, adding that the federal government was helping the provinces understand and manage their control for the time being but the provinces would have to deal with the devolved ministries in the longer run. He also assured Pirzada that the government would provide required resources to the new ministries.
Earlier, the source said, Prime Minister Gilani told the federal cabinet that the media had been showing an irresponsible attitude during his talks with the delegations of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP). “With the meetings only started, the TV channels started running tickers that the MQM delegation had refused to meet me and the same thing happened when the meeting with ANP delegation started. Now Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad was present in all those meetings as the MQM representative. Moreover, Shahi Syed also met me twice while he was present at the chief minister’s dinner,” the source quoted the prime minister.
Later, Law Minister Maula Bukhsh Chandio accused the treasury MPs for shying away from sharing details about targeted killers’ identities on talk shows on TV.