KARACHI: The Sindh government has again reminded the federal government that the devolution plan as per the 18th Constitutional Amendment was far from complete and demanded the handing over of the Korangi Fish Harbour to Sindh, along with several other facilities concerning the fisheries sector, it emerged on Tuesday.

“As per the Constitution of Pakistan, fisheries is a provincial subject, thus it should be treated like that in letter and spirit,” said a senior official in the Sindh government, adding that they had sent another communication to Islamabad over the subject.

In pursuance of the 18th Amendment, said officials, the ministry of livestock and dairy development was wrapped up, and offices and organisations including the Korangi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA) and deep sea resources in Pakistan’s Exclusive Economic Zone devolved to the Sindh government.

They said a notification issued on April 4, 2011 and corrigendum dated April 5, 2011 had explicitly redressed the issue.

“The Sindh government’s law ministry has vetted this matter on fishing and fisheries beyond the territorial waters. The law ministry is of the view that all activities within territorial waters stand devolved to the province [of Sindh].”

The law ministry maintained its viewpoint as it stated five years ago that under paragraph (a) of Article 142 of the Constitution, the parliament “shall have exclusive power to make laws with respect to any matter in the Federal Legislative List.”

“Likewise,” said a law ministry document, “paragraph (c) of the said article provides that subject to paragraph (b), a provincial assembly shall and parliament shall not have power to make laws with respect to any matter not enumerated in the Federal Legislative List.”

It said in the Fourth Schedule, in the Federal Legislative List, vide entry No.36, the subject ‘fishing and fisheries beyond the territorial waters’ stands assigned to the parliament’.

“Therefore, it is very clear that the subject ‘fishing’ and any activity relating thereto including ‘animal quarantine protocol’ within the territorial water, falls within legislative competence of the provincial assembly,” it said.

“Therefore, all the activities relating to fishing and fisheries within the territorial waters stand devolved to the provinces. The federal government can only regulate the matters relating to the licences for import or export of fisheries but it cannot regulate the fishing and fisheries within the territorial limits.”

Officials said the KFHA, Hawkesbay Shrimp Hatchery, Marine Fishery Training Centre, and Laboratory for Detection of Drugs in Animal Products were situated within territorial waters, hence, should be handed over to the Sindh government as per the 18th Amendment.

Sources said the Sindh government was trying to get all such establishments handed over and under its control since the devolution plan was approved by parliament.

Former chief minister Qaim Ali Shah had made repeated efforts to transfer them from Islamabad and his successor, Murad Ali Shah, has taken up the issue more than once with the federal government.

Officials regretted that the federal government, instead of devolving such functions to the provincial government, had created livestock and fisheries wings.

A laboratory for the detection of drug residues in animal products in Karachi, said an official, had been created in the commerce ministry and the office for the promotion of deep sea fisheries resources had been created in the ports and shipping ministry.

“This shows the federal government is hesitant to devolve the constitutional powers to the provinces. It is extremely unfortunate in a federal set-up,” said the official.

It is learnt that the issue had also been raised at the recent meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI), where, officials said, CM Shah demanded that the federal government should incorporate Sindh government’s representatives on the boards of the Karachi Port Trust and the Bin Qasim port among several other such bodies, which are in the control of Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2016