KARACHI: The appointment of an official of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, who happens to be a younger brother of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, as the deputy commissioner of a key Karachi district by the Sindh government has invited the wrath of main opposition parties in the province.

On July 23, the Sindh government through a notification posted Ziaur Rehman, an officer of KP’s Provincial Management Service in grade-19, as the deputy commissioner of Karachi’s Central district by transferring Farhan Ghani, an ex-PCS officer also in grade-19.

It is unclear as to how an official of the KP government managed to bring himself at the disposal of the Sindh government. However, the move is being seen as an outcome of a meeting between PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Maulana Fazl in Karachi on July 10.

The news of Mr Rehman’s appointment became public on Friday and both the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) voiced concern over the Sindh government’s move since the incumbent had no prior administrative experience in Sindh.

Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur of the PTI said in a statement that Mr Rehman did not pass the PMS examination and he was inducted without appearing in a test or having merit.

Sindh information minister says ‘it is not a crime’ to be the maulana’s brother

Talking to reporters outside the Sindh Assembly, senior MQM-P leader Khwaja Izharul Hasan said that the Sindh government did not accept an inspector general of police from outside the province; then how could it post an officer of KP without the notification of the federal government?

However, the Sindh government defended the move as Information Minister Nasir Shah told media that it was “not a crime to be the brother of Maulana Fazlur Rehman”.

“Ziaur Rehman had worked on administrative position in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he was the Afghan Refugees commissioner as well as DC Khushab. His posting [in Sindh as DC-Central] is an administrative issue,” he said.

‘Worst example of nepotism’

Terming it a “worst example of political nepotism”, the coordination committee of the MQM-P condemned the appointment of “brother of Maulana Fazlur Rehman” on the post of DC-Central.

“The racist government of Sindh has crossed every limit. Previously, the PPP was usurping the rights of the urban areas of Sindh all alone, but now it has made other political parties accomplice in its political crimes,” the MQM-P said in a hard-hitting statement.

The party warned that the “sense of deprivation” already existing in the urban parts of the province would turn into sense of alienation if such actions were not stopped.

It said that it was the deputy commissioners of urban areas of Sindh, especially of Karachi districts, who were involved in issuance of fake domiciles and permanent residence certificates to hundreds of thousands of non-residents who later got government jobs.

Meanwhile, the general secretary of PTI’s Karachi chapter, Saeed Afridi, said that it seemed that the Sindh government got completely disappointed with the performance of the deputy commissioners belonging to Sindh so it posted a KP officer to appease Maulana Fazl.

He said that the people of Karachi knew that the Sindh government posted Maulana Fazl’s brother as DC-Central only to “please and favour” him.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2020