SC asks for report on Karachi delimitation

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the Sindh government came under heavy fire on Thursday when the Supreme Court grilled officials from the two institutions over their constitutional role in maintaining law and order in the port city.
A four-member SC bench of Justices Jawwad S Khawaja, Khilji Arif Hussain, Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Amir Hani Muslim resumed hearing in the implementation of its suo motu notice of Karachi law and order, asking the ECP to submit a report on Friday to brief the court on the progress made on its order on delimitation of electoral constituencies in the violence-hit city.
Justice Khawaja saw red when ECP’s lawyer Munir Paracha told the bench that the commission’s delimitation job was hindered by the constitutional requirement of a pre-delimitation census.
Justice Khawaja then reminded Paracha of the willingness of ECP Secretary Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan, saying he had said the ECP was ready to do the job.
The lawyer said that might be Khan’s personal view and had nothing to do with ECP’s constitutional role.
“We know what the constitution says – the ECP should do its job,” remarked a visibly charged Justice Khawaja, adding that census was the job of executive and the ECP was responsible for holding free and fair elections in the country.
“If the executive does not do its job for next four more years, would it also warrant you to not do your job?” he said.
“You decide something and then sit back. Tell us what you are doing with the delimitation,” the judge said and sought a progress report on the next hearing due today (Friday).
The bench observed that the ECP was constitutionally bound to ensure the concept of one-person-one-vote in the city, saying the votes in Karachi, Hangu and Turbat should be equal.
The bench also asked for a detailed report on the political affiliations of the accused nominated in FIRs lodged after the killing of about 3,000 people in 2012 in Karachi.
Questioning the role of the federal government in controlling the ongoing bloodbath in Karachi, the bench said the Centre’s action had so far been of sending a minister (Rehman Malik) to alert Karachiites about something bad about to happen.
Ishaq Khawar, lawyer for the Sindh IGP, came under fire when he said none of a 100,000 policemen recruited were politically affiliated with any party.
Justice Hani recalled that the former Sindh IGP had believed that 40 percent of the police in the province was political. “Only one of you two could be right,” he told the lawyer.
About land grabbing, the bench was told that 441 cases had been registered in which challans had been issued to 50 people.
Justice Khilji said the government was lacking the courage to act in areas pinpointed by the court.
Justice Hani said 36,000 petitions against land-grabbing were pending in courts, but the complainants were being implicated in fake cases to deter them from pursuing their cause.
The bench also questioned the merit of changing the 33-year land lease into 99 years. The judges were also critical of the Sindh government’s claim that land record had been burnt in the post-December 27, 2007 violence.
Justice Hani said the record was instead lying with “patwaris”. “The government could easily prepare the record through micro-films had it the will to do so,” he added.
Quoting Pakistan Rangers, the bench said police were placing minor charges against hardened criminals being arrested by the Rangers.
Justice Khawaja said two accused arrested for killing 24 and nine people were charged under Section 353 only.
When asked, the court was told that there were 1.4 million foreigners present in the Karachi currently.
Slamming the government’s lukewarm response to its November 2011’s orders, the court observed that the government was yet to submit a comprehensive compliance report.
Sindh Attorney General Fattah Malik, however, said his side had already submitted its report to the court which the latter had rejected.