09 February 2005	Wednesday	29 Zilhaj 1425

KARACHI, Feb 8: The provincial government will inform the high court on Wednesday whether it is prepared to let the relieved nazims and deputy nazims retain their offices in the divided halves of their bifurcated districts wherein they are registered as voters.

A compromise formula was mooted on Tuesday by the Sindh High Court division bench seized of a joint petition moved by the four relieved nazims and two deputy nazims amid arguments by Advocate-General Anwar Mansoor Khan. The AG said he would seek instructions from the government and inform the bench, which consists of Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Zia Pervez, on Wednesday.

After consultation with his clients present in the courtroom, Advocate Rasheed A. Razvi submitted that the petitioners would not mind being restored to the offices of nazim and deputy nazim in the newly-created districts carved out of the old bifurcated districts wherein their vote was registered. They agreed that the provincial government would be free to arrange by-polls and let the district coordination officers continue to hold charge in the meanwhile or till the new local government polls. He was assisted by Advocate Abu Bakr Zardari.

The arrangement follows the Balochistan precedent where the nazims and deputy nazims of the old bifurcated districts were allowed to retain their offices in the remaining halves of the districts of their registration. If the two sides agree, petitioner Khusheed Ahmed Junejo would complete his term as the nazim of the newly-demarcated district of Larkana while the government would be free to continue with the DCO as acting nazim of Kambar or Shahdadkot till bypolls or fresh local government elections in the province.

Pir Syed Shafqat Shah Jilani would continue as the nazim of Mirpurkhas while the DCO would remain in charge of the office in the newly-created district of Umerkot. Mir Shabbir Khan Bijarani would serve out the remainder of his term as the nazim of Jacobabad while the interim arrangement would be made for the new district of Kashmore at Kandhkot. Malik Asad Sikandar Khan would become the nazim of Jamshoro while an officiating nazim would be appointed for Dadu. The deputy nazims would likewise retain their offices in the districts of their registration. Two of them, Nazir Ahmed Bhugio of Larkana and M. Mohammad Yunus of Mirpurkhas, are co-petitioners.

As the AG resumed arguments on Tuesday, the bench observed that it would have to 'improvise' the law in the absence of a specific, clear-cut provision in the Sindh Local Government Ordinance regulating the situation created by the bifurcation of the four districts and creation of new districts.

New local government elections were due to be held before August 2005 and it would be in the fitness of things if the matter was resolved without 'improvising' the law. "Heavens won't fall if the relieved nazims were allowed to function for another few months", it observed.

The AG said neither the bifurcation of the new revenue districts, nor the consequential action of relieving the nazims and deputy nazims was politically-motivated. The local governments had nothing to do with politics and political affiliation which, in fact, disqualifies nazims and deputy nazims from being elected or continuing to hold their offices.

Resuming his arguments earlier, the AG said the impugned notifications were issued under Section 186 (2) of the SLGO, which empowered the provincial government in this behalf in the event of 'a natural calamity' or 'conditions beyond human control'. The new revenue districts were indisputably created under Section 6 of the Land Revenue Act and automatically became electoral districts under Section 7 of the SLGO. The government had to provide for the situation thus created.

Asked by the bench why could the relieved nazims and deputy nazims not be asked to seek a vote of confidence from the union councils of the newly-carved out districts, the AG said it required a lot of work first to determine where the petitioners were enlisted as voters and then to arrange a vote.

There was no provision in the law stipulating a fresh vote of confidence from a new electoral district.

Elections had in any case to be held as nazims and deputy nazims had to contest the polls as a team, which might have been split by bifurcation, and there were eight new vacancies. The government thought it best to refer the matter to the chief election commissioner to arrange bypolls in all eight new districts, he added.