FIA and NAB have no jurisdiction to conduct raids in Sindh, says Qaim
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KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Monday said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had no jurisdiction to conduct raids in Sindh.
"It is an invasion and we are going to challenge it," said Qaim Ali Shah while speaking to media in a Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) programme held at the FPCCI building today.
“Without asking the Sindh government, NAB and FIA have been given powers by the Centre to conduct raids in provincial and local government offices, arrest officers and paralyse the day to day working of the provincial government," said the chief minister.
Read: Rangers have turned Sindh into an occupied province: Altaf
The chief minister added that the executive authority of the federal government or officers of its agencies could not perform the functions of Sindh government in respect of criminal offences regarding corruption of provincial civil servants.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain on the other hand has praised the stance taken by Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah on the issue of giving additional powers to FIA.
"MQM fully supports the stand taken by the chief minister regarding giving of more powers to FIA. It is tantamount to an attack on Sindh and a great injustice," said Altaf.
He further said legislation should be drawn up to control such injustices towards the provinces.
The MQM chief assured the chief minister that the MQM would extend every political, legal and moral support if the Sindh government challenges the additional powers of FIA in a court of law.
“People of Sindh must wake up now and make a united effort for making their province autonomous by ending the current occupied status," said Altaf, adding that Sindh has been treated as a colony for the past 68 years.
The MQM chief further urged parliamentarians from Sindh to set aside their ideological differences and launch a united effort for the legal and constitutional rights of Sindh.
Nisar allays Qaim's concerns
Federal Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan on Monday assured Sindh CM Qaim Ali Shah that extra powers given to the FIA under the Protection of Pakistan Act were not just limited to Sindh but extended to all parts of Pakistan.
In a telephonic conversation with Qaim, Nisar said FIA had been granted special powers to tackle crimes that take place in international waters, span across provinces or do not fall under police's jurisdiction.
Earlier, the chief minister had conveyed to Nisar his reservations over actions of FIA and NAB in Sindh. "Their actions are not less than interference in provincial autonomy," he said.
Qaim told Nisar that NAB and FIA had already begun raids in Shikarpur and other districts of the province, even against teachers and clerks.
"As a matter of fact, we have anti-corruption and a chief minister inspection team to probe these smaller offences," he said.
"Yes, we will extend our full support if there is any mega corruption case or irregularity but even then the FIA and NAB are bound to take me into confidence," said the Sindh chief minister.
Nisar told Qaim that he respected autonomy of all provinces including Sindh. "No province should have this concern," said the federal interior minister.
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Comments (53) Closed
Jul 06, 2015 10:53pm
Why are they worried about the raids if they have nothing yo hide ??
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Jul 06, 2015 11:03pm
FIA and NAB well done keep it up. Thank you.
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Jul 06, 2015 11:05pm
If the Sindh government and its CM are honest, then they should not be afraid of FIA because they should have nothing to hide.
FIA is a federal organization with jurisdiction across all provinces and they must do their job to eliminate corruption and all sort of crimes from Pakistan.
Since the provincial anti-corruption departments are under the provincial governments, there is a potential conflict of interest and therefore can not be trusted to do the right thing in the given circumstances. FIA should be made stronger in terms of sophisticated training and resources, while provincial "anti-corruption" departments should be shut down. NAB on the other hand is a redundant organization and needs to be shut down by the federal government as soon as possible
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Jul 06, 2015 11:09pm
Key word here is NAB- National Accountability Bureau not punjab not kpk not sindh not baloch but national so they can raid any office in punjab or any other province
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Jul 06, 2015 11:14pm
F is for federal and N is for national. So unless he means Sindh comes under neither umbrella, I'd say we ignore the man.
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Jul 06, 2015 11:16pm
Nisar must know about his doing and jurisdiction.
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Jul 06, 2015 11:38pm
But all of them including Rangers have a right to conduct raids on MQM offices and party wrokers homes.
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Jul 06, 2015 11:39pm
Who would hav guessed mqm would not b supporting qaim alis remarks. Hamid gul said all roads lead to bilawal house and all roads lead to raiwind
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Jul 06, 2015 11:51pm
More dents to already drowning PPP.
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Jul 07, 2015 12:06am
Corruption is the deadliest disease the nation is facing.Terrorism is an offshoot of corruption.Please check all countries where terrorism has now strong footing is due to mega corruption by the rulers.So corruption has to go if we want to save Pakistan.
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Jul 07, 2015 12:30am
Rangers, FIA, NAB, Nisar - well done - this is the only way to go, if we want to solve the corruption issue.
But remember, corruption is not limited to Sindh only.
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Jul 07, 2015 01:00am
Paralyse the working of Sindh govt. Haha as it is not currently
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Jul 07, 2015 01:13am
Why you guys were silent when Axact was raided by FIA?? consistency is amiss in pakistan!
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Jul 07, 2015 01:28am
@Moby
The corruption must be uprooted without taking into consideration constitutions as Pakistan is a country where the rules of jungle "might is right" apply. The might is course with the mighty ones suitably helped by the media to make-up the story and keep it beating till the time the objectives are achieved. Perhaps the target achievement is offing. Sindh must make itself ready for the ultimate result coming soon.
A Peshawary
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Jul 07, 2015 01:36am
Thieves trying to help thieves... mqm and ppp hand in hand against this anti-corruption drive
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Jul 07, 2015 01:37am
@Abu Hamza ... Beside other looters... both PPP and MQM are main culpritsculprits in Sindh so they are supporting each other.. We really need a dictator who should put all culprits in one straight line and send all of them in hell in one go !!!
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Jul 07, 2015 01:38am
@AW .. Honesty and Sindh govt are two opposite faces of one coin :)
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Jul 07, 2015 01:38am
It's like in the movies from Hollywood where the guilty bad gays go "you have jurisdiction here" and all movie goers knows immediately they are guilty of the crimes.
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Jul 07, 2015 01:42am
"paralyse the day to day working of the provincial government"
Sindh govt. working...lol, good one Mr. C.M.
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Jul 07, 2015 01:47am
Bear all the interference's of federal Govt, If you want to loot the money and spare your Govt, Mr. Qaim . otherwise you have option to resign and go home. Don't cry time and again on the one pretext or another. No need to tell that only Sindh is being targeted by the Federal Govt. We know this proxy war is for power and not for the welfare of nation.
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Jul 07, 2015 01:49am
Army and Rangers should not listen to these useless corrupt politicians. Corrupt leaders should be arrested regardless of which party they belong too. It is the Politician that the cause of spreading corruption in the country
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Jul 07, 2015 02:04am
According to CM Sindh, FIA and NAB has no jurisdiction to conduct raids in Sindh. Does the Sindh Government has jurisdiction to indulged in corruption, money laundering, land grabbing and financial terrorism, which is flourishing in their domain.
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Jul 07, 2015 02:05am
One hundred and thirty “130” police constables were arrested in Karachi just the other day for routinely collecting money bags from drug trades conducted under police supervision; constables are low on the totem pole, this level corruption is tolerated because money is going upstream all the way to Islamabad. Let NAB, FIA and rangers now start cleanup from Islamabad as top civilian bureaucracy sitting in Islamabad is also corrupt otherwise 130 constable wouldn’t have been indicted; unfortunately this is not done; this puts a shadow of doubt on the sincerity of whole operation. Instead of broadcasting what these 130 constables were doing, charges should have been filed on SHO's, DSP’s, SP’s, SSP’s, and DIG’s, IG up to the Secretary who runs police department at the federal level. Let police be from Sindh; level of corruption we see in Sind will be under control; unfortunately this will never be done it is easy to go for small fish then for sharks.
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Jul 07, 2015 02:06am
As a Karachite Sindhi I fully support the stance of Chowdary Nisar to empower the institutions.
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Jul 07, 2015 02:25am
CM knows that all corruption done by Sind government with their partner MQM will be exposed, that is why he is trying to stop both agencies. Also because PPP is next for which corruption cases are going to open.
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Jul 07, 2015 02:30am
Whenever there is a weak government and after so many direct and indirect warnings this stage was evident. People are expecting something more serious episodes. Please open your eyes and try to fix day to day problems seriously. It is essential to save PPP.
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Jul 07, 2015 02:51am
Federal agencies have jurisdiction over the entire state.
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Jul 07, 2015 02:53am
Qaim Saheb, both agencies have full authority anywhere across the nation. Are you concerned that they might find corruption in your personal and official capacities?
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Jul 07, 2015 03:01am
The chief minister is right. It is beyond the mandate of the Rangers to take action against corrupt government officials and politicians. However, the corrupt Sindh government has not done anyuthing to curb this corruption. Therefore it is incumbent upon the federal government to take action whether it be throught the Rangers or any other department.
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Jul 07, 2015 03:02am
FIA and NAB dont you see its the land of milk and honey ? By the way, who poked FIA and NAB to get into action ? Last time I checked they were as corrupt as the politicians.
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Jul 07, 2015 03:04am
Who says that FIA and NAB had no Jurisdiction in Sind. No body is above the Law.
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Jul 07, 2015 03:07am
politicians are busy in corruption and transferring money through carrier.,anchors busy trying to stay with powerful,tv fighting for the ranking,judiciary busy with political cases and not taking notice of extra-judicial killing and illegal detention,army busy planting news and getting desired confessional statement under PPO..this the hard fact but no body taking notice of common man dying due to lack o electricity,water ,heat waves,price hike...
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Jul 07, 2015 03:21am
All institutions must do their job but within their parameters. While corruption need to be eradicated it must be done while respecting the constitution.
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Jul 07, 2015 03:23am
paralyse the day to day working of the provincial government," said the chief minister.
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Jul 07, 2015 03:34am
Why most of the commentators are oblivious of the constitution of Pakistan, and supporting something which is a provincial subject? Are they still living in the bygone days of one unit. Pakistan is a federal republic, consisting of four provinces, federal capital area, federal tribal area and Northern area. The provinces are autonomous. Law and order is a provincial subject. So respect the law.
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Jul 07, 2015 03:36am
If your performance has been indeed as stellar as you and your band of claim, you have no reason to worry. But you seem to be shaking in your boots. Why?
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Jul 07, 2015 03:43am
Why is the government worried if someone has decided to root out the corrupt elements and try to improve the governance of the province? The provincial government should encourage and extend its support to the FIA and NAB. This can only point to one thing; the government is concerned that they will be caught and their misdeeds will become public. That is the only reason that I can think of. They are against FIA, they are also against Rangers rounding up terror elements in the city. What do they want???
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Jul 07, 2015 03:55am
Than who will catch thieves?
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Jul 07, 2015 03:59am
I think the issue is not as simple as it sounds. One of the blogger by the name AW has stated-"Since the provincial anti-corruption departments are under the provincial governments, there is a potential conflict of interest and therefore can not be trusted to do the right thing in the given circumstances".
What about Federal government, its civil servants and politicians, who shall be investigating them? A federal agency that has potential conflict of interest and therefore cannot be trusted to do the right thing...."?
Fish rots and stinks from the head down. We need a constitutional authority, reporting to Parliament. Members of the authority shall be from all provinces and with no political and religious linkages to any party and organisation. It shall have full control over the investigation and executive arms of the body.
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Jul 07, 2015 04:12am
About time some serious actions are taken against white collar criminals. Please don't forget to catch those criminal's patron in the next round. Pakistanis cannot allow few criminals to continue calling the shots and bending the law to suit their desires. Pakistan belongs to its 180,000,000 citizens and few powerful people should not to allowed to destroy the country. Please catch and punish those criminals as fast as possible, cleanse the society and get rid of those thugs ASAP. A big thank you to all who are trying to put Pakistan on path of law & order, progress and prosperity.
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Jul 07, 2015 04:59am
"Paralyse the day to day workings of provincial govt." I think he meant to say paralyse their day to day corruption.
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Jul 07, 2015 05:28am
FIA and NAB are both federal agencies having jurisdiction All over Pakistan.
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Jul 07, 2015 05:39am
@Moby .... Not only Sindh? Then the Army will need to take over the entire country by the end of the year.
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Jul 07, 2015 05:50am
They are now worring about themselves.they are now realizing that all those small raids will portray their hidden corruptions.
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Jul 07, 2015 06:05am
Corrupt politicians are worried! One wonders why? Should Sindh govt be asking for such steps?
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Jul 07, 2015 06:13am
And Rangers have all rights to victimize your political opponents ?
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Jul 07, 2015 06:23am
This goof, Qaim Shah, need lesson in reality. Stooges are never successful.
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Jul 07, 2015 06:31am
If we appoint such incompetent people to such high offices then no wonder we get such statements....and the province suffers.
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Jul 07, 2015 06:46am
These thieves and looters want accountability on their own choice.
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Jul 07, 2015 07:47am
The turn coat politician comes of its hiding to protect the PPP turf. The rangers, FIA and the NAB are doing their job and the crime rate has gone down drastically in the province. The chief minister of Sindh now maintains they they have no jurisdiction in his province. Now can it get better than this?
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Jul 07, 2015 08:18am
I rate Sindh as the worst governed and least developed province of Pakistan despite PPP ruling Federally a few times, and ruling interior Sindh since its birth, and MQM ruling Sindh's metropolitan cities since its birth too! Their governance motto of governance is loot, corruption, killings, and no development!
They are now saying they cannot governed province since their governance motto is being hampered!
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Jul 07, 2015 11:51am
It seems like M Q M AND P P P have reconciled their differences. After in politics it is the interest that counts.Specially if is common interest.Nothing will ever change unless the corruption is rooted out from its core and is done across the board... As long as the political parties are active it would be impossible...The only answer in my opinion is martial law against this fake and sham democracy...My sincere advice to our institutions in Pakistan...A institution that value its privileges above its principles soon loses both...let it not be a regional based and think big in term of saving our country....
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Jul 07, 2015 01:46pm
PPP and MQM are basically rival parties and tend to harm each other when ever possible. But also both are corrupt, and wanted to eat large share from sindh. and when a third person comes in area then they become altogether Sindhi and brother and make a call to general population like this.
beware of realities my dear Sindhi brothers.
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