by Peerzada Salman in Dawn, 29 Dec 2020
KARACHI: Criticising the Pakistan Peoples Party for its “surreptitious” approval of the PIDA ordinance, Sindh United Party (SUP) leader Syed Jalal Mahmood Shah said on Monday that the federal government had begun “occupying” the islands of Sindh and Balochistan beginning with Bundal and Buddo.
He was speaking on the Pakistan Islands Development Authority Ordinance at a one-day national conference on the subject organised by the SUP at a hotel here on Monday.
In his welcome address, Mr Shah said the government of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Aug 31 came up with the Pakistan Islands Development Authority Ordinance, ignoring the Constitution. Betraying (dhokey bazi kertey huay) the people of Sindh, the PPP and the federal government kept the ordinance a secret until it was published in the Pakistan Gazetteer in September. This proves that the federal government is eying the islands of Sindh and Balochistan and the “occupation” has begun with Bundal and Buddo islands.
Mr Shah said when the patriotic and socially conscious people of Sindh pointed out the injustice the federal government told them that it was all done with the permission of the PPP. When those socially conscious people began their struggle from the platform of the Sindh Action Committee, the provincial government in a duplicitous (doghli policy) move distanced itself from the permission. The federal government, though, did not budge from its position and kept on implementing the ordinance.
He said that as per Article 172(2) of the Constitution and the Maritime Act 1976, it’s clear that minerals in the sea within 12 nautical miles belong to the provinces. The federal government is not paying heed to it. It was also an attempt to weaken the federation. The people of Sindh in the past had been unhappy with the federal government due to similar steps — such as when Karachi after independence was put under the federation and the imposition of One Unit.
Mr Shah said Sindh’s political leader G.M. Syed laid the foundation for the country but when he sensed that their national identity was in danger, he raised his voice for which he was labelled a traitor and put behind bars.
PML-N’s Nihal Hashmi said the SUP had united the whole of Pakistan [on the conference’s platform]. Referring to an earlier speaker who had objected to politicians’ loudness in addressing issues, he underlined that jobs are being snatched, people are being taken away and rights are being usurped … how the politicians can speak softly in such circumstances. He requested the leaders of the Pakistan Democratic Movement to include PIDA in their discussion in the next meeting.
Former chief minister of Balochistan Dr Malik Baloch said this [the ordinance] is basically an approach, a mental condition that how to cut off the coasts from Sindh and Balochistan and make them into something else. Every powerful ruler has done that. Gen Musharraf had clearly said that he wanted to make Gwadar a federal area.
Dr Baloch said the islands that are in Sindh belong to the people of Sindh. Whatever yardstick (paimana) they [federal government] will apply, it will not work. A lot of powerful people came and tried to have their hold on Sindh and Balochistan but couldn’t do it. “Prior to this issue, there was the issue of the Sindh Coastal Authority and the Balochistan Coastal Authority. We protested that under what law you’ve set up this authority. I say this with sadness that when we were working on the 18th Amendment, we said that the coasts and ports belonged to the federating units and not to the federal government, but there were some leaders of big political parties who argued that wasn’t the case.”……
https://www.dawn.com/news/1598456/centre-has-begun-occupying-islands-of-sindh-and-balochistan-says-sup
