KARACHI: Action against illegal burials at protected site sought
By Bhagwandas
KARACHI, July 2: A large number of influential people, particularly senior bureaucrats and police department high-ups, have illegally buried their relatives in the Kalhoro dynasty tombs, which are protected monuments, in Hyderabad, but no action is being taken against them, it is learnt here reliably.
According to sources, the tomb of Ghulam Shah Kalhoro, a former ruler of Sindh, and the adjoining graveyard in Hirabad, Hyderabad are protected under the Antiquities Act 1975, which bans such activities in protected sites.
The sources said that the latest such illegal burial took place on April 4, 2006, when Barkat Ali Kadri, father of Ghazanfar Ali, section officer of the Sindh Home Department was buried there. According to sources, when the archaeology department staff on site, tried to stop the illegal burial they were detained in a police mobile for over five hours till the illegal burial concluded.
When the matter was reported to the high-ups in the Sindh government, including the chief secretary, rather than taking any action against the officials for breaking the law, the archaeology department is being asked to regularise the illegal burial issue.
Earlier, archaeology department’s Assistant Curator Naeema Mughal on April 4, 2006 had approached the district police officer Hyderabad and the SHO of the Baldia police station informing them regarding the proposed illegal burial of Barkat Ali Kadri within the tomb of Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro and asked them to help the department stop this illegal act. But no action was taken and the police detained the archaeology staff in a mobile till the illegal burial was completed.
Archaeology department Director Qasim Ali Qasim also wrote a letter to the Sindh Chief Secretary Fazalur Rehman on April 17, 2006 informing him of the illegal act of one of his subordinates, and requested him that disciplinary action may be taken against Ghazanfar Kadri. The chief secretary, however, took no action.
Shoaib Khero of the Services and General Administration Department in his June 7, 2006 letter to Mr Qasim has said that “in the restricted area of Ghulam Shah Kalhoro’s tomb people of the area have been burying dead bodies of their relatives, and some burials have been carried out within a period of 10-15 years.
“In case other burials have been carried out in the restricted area by adopting any laid down procedure it may be appraised so that Ghazanfar Kadri may adopt that procedure to regularise burial of his father ……… moreover, it would not be appropriate to exhume and shift the dead body from the protected monument at this stage, which would also be deemed as against its sanctity.”
The archaeology department says that it has been approaching the police and district administration from time to time to take necessary action against the illegal burials, but no action was taken, so the influential people, considering it as a status symbol, continue to carryout illegal burials in the Kalhoro dynasty graveyard.
In its latest communication to the Sindh Home Department, the archaeology department has said, “it is regretted to point out that instead of taking disciplinary action against Ghazanfar Ali, Section Officer, permission (regularisation) of his illegal act is being sought.
It is therefore requested that necessary action on misconduct and violating the Antiquities Act 1975 committed by Mr Ghazanfar may be taken under intimation to this office.”
The archaeology department officials said that when even the chief secretary was not taking any action against the influential police and home department officials then who will take action against them by awarding exemplary punishment so that it could serve as a deterrent and others would not dare to violate the laws.
The sources said that other influential people buried illegally in the Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro dynasty graveyard include: Malkan Begum – wife of retired SP Bux Ali Kadri, was buried on Jan 14, 2006. She was mother of the then ADIG (Traffic, Karachi) Mohammad Saleh Kadri and DSP Altaf Hussain Kadri, and Prof Amir Ali Kadri of Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam.
SP Qazi Abdul Ghani and his family members were buried in 1996. The entire family had died in a road accident in Quetta. Sindh Hari (farmers) leader Comrade Haider Bux Jatoi was buried on May 21, 1970.
Mumtaz Jatoi, wife of Haider Bux Jatoi was buried there on Oct 20, 1970. Their sons Mazhar Jatoi (Aug 23, 1998) and Dadan Jatoi were also buried there. Singer/musician Faqir Abdul Ghafoor was buried there in 1986. Maulana Ghulam Mustafa Qasmi was also buried by a former Sindh Culture Department secretary illegally in the Kalhoro dynasty graveyard.
The sources said that if no action was taken then the bureaucrats would more strongly consider themselves above the law and would continue to violate the same and carry out illegal burials in the protected monuments.
