KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has announced to challenge an amendment in the NAB ordinance under which an accused of Rs50 million embezzlement would be given C-class jail facility.
He said that the federal government encroaching upon the jurisdiction of the provincial government(s) has amended National Accountability Ordinance 1999 to assign C-class jail facilities to the accused of Rs50 million embezzlement.
“This is a pure jail manual matter and the federal government is not authorized to make such an amendment, therefore the provincial government has decided to challenge it in the court of law.”
He was talking at Baradari where he performed handing over ceremony of 20 suction and high-pressure jetting machine to Karachi water.
Shah said that the federal government has inserted section 10 in the ordinance which will assign C class jail facilities to a suspect/accused of embezzling funds of Rs50 million. He added that the jails are under the jurisdiction of the provincial government(s) and the federal government was not authorized to make such an amendment.
To another question, he said that the federal government has said a number of times that the 18thconstitutional amendment was not a divine book which could not be an amendment. “I have told them that you can amend it just for giving devolving more powers to the provinces but you [fed govt] will not be allowed to scrap it,” he said categorically.
Replying to a question, the chief minister said that the PPP government in Sindh was accused of changing the alignment of K-IV but now it has been proved that the provincial government had nothing to do with the alignment. “The project will definitely see the light of the day for which I am working hard,” he said and added the S-III project would also be completed.
He said that the federal government has destroyed the economy of the country. He added that poor people could not afford square meals. The prices of vegetables have gone up and they [Fed finance minister] were claiming that tomatoes were available for Rs17 per kg in the vegetable market, he expressed his surprise.
