KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has directed the federal and provincial authorities concerned to file their comments by Sept 15 on a petition challenging the Sindh Charities Registration and Regulation Act, 2019.

On the last hearing, the SHC had put the federal secretaries of law and economic affairs division, the chief secretary of Sindh, provincial social welfare department, Charities Registration & Regulation Commission Sindh and other respondents on notice.

At the outset of the hearing, additional director of social welfare department Mohammad Khailque informed the two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar that the reply was in process and sought more time to file the same.

The senior counsel Rasheed A. Razvi, representing the petitioners, submitted that on Aug 12, a day after the bench issued notices to respondents, a public notice was published in a newspaper that the provincial government had constituted the Sindh Charity Commission with the direction to all NGOs to apply for registration.

However, the additional director made a clear statement that no adverse action would be taken against the petitioners till next hearing and the bench took the same on record.

The deputy attorney general Kafeel Abbasi also requested for further time to file replies from the federal authorities, impleaded as respondents, till next hearing.

The petition was filed by several civil society organisations against the act and contented that it was ultra vires and in violation of the fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution.

The petitioners further submitted that around 10 sections of the impugned act were in violation of the fundamental right, unjustified and capable of being used as a tool for oppression and discrimination and were liable to be struck down.

They asked the court to declare that the respondent economic affairs division, federal government, Islamabad has no statutory backing/ locus standi and authority to frame, regulate and enact the rules of the NGOs Policy, 2013.

The petitioners also sought directions to restrain the respondents from taking action or implementing any provision of/ under the Impugned Policy 2013 and the Impugned Act 2019 against the petitioners.

Tourism secretary summoned

The Sindh High Court on Thursday summoned the provincial secretary of tourism on a petition regarding 10 people’s drowning in the Keenjhar Lake.

The two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar said that it was the responsibility of the local administration to ensure that fishing boats were not used for tourism after it was informed that the people drowned in the boat meant for fishing and not authorised for tourism.

On the last hearing the bench had summoned the Thatta deputy commissioner (DC) and the senior superintendent of police (SSP) and on Thursday they turned up and the SSP filed a report.

An additional advocate general submitted that a standard operating procedure was made in April last year for security arrangement of the Sindh Tourism Development Corporation at the lake and drowning incidents in summer.

The bench observed that despite formulating the SOP, 10 people lost their lives on Aug 17.

DC Usman Tanveer contented that there were two types of permissions, one for fishing boats and other for tourism, and the incident occurred in the fishing boat which was not authorised for use for tourism.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2020