QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution moved by the opposition leader with the support of treasury benches against a move to hand over islands in Balochistan and Sindh to the federal government through a presidential ordinance and demanded withdrawal of the ordinance without delay.

The resolution was presented in the house by Opposition Leader Advocate Malik Sikander Khan on the private members day.

Speaking on the resolution, he said that taking over islands of Sindh and Balochistan through the presidential ordinance was against the constitution as the islands belonged to the two provinces.

“The provinces were not taken into confidence before issuing the presidential ordinance by the federal government,” he said, adding that the federal government would not be allowed to take over these islands.

Takeover of islands in Sindh and Balochistan is against constitution, house told

Nasarullah Zerey of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party termed the ordinance unconstitutional, saying that the islands belonged to the provinces and nobody could take over them without the permission of the provinces.

He expressed his surprise over the silence of the Balochistan chief minister and members of his cabinet over the issue.

Asghar Khan Achakzai, parliamentary leader of the Awami National Party, which is a part of the provincial coalition government, supported the resolution and said that after failing in rolling back 18th Amendment in the constitutional, the federal government was trying to take over resources of the provinces through a presidential ordinance. He said the federal government would not be allowed to take over the islands of the two provinces at any cost.

“President Alvi should have stepped down after the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Justice Qazi Faez Isa case as he has lost the moral ground to remain in the office,” Mr Achakzai said.

Provincial Finance Minister Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi while supporting the resolution said that such important decisions should not be taken in a closed-door meeting. Citing a 1991’s convention held in Brazil with the name of Convention on Biological Diversity which was also signed by Pakistan, he said it was about wildlife and marine life.

Syed Ehsan Shah, Mir Ahmed Nawaz Baloch, Malik Naseer Ahmed Shahwani and other members also spoke on the resolution and demanded withdrawal of the presidential ordinance regarding the islands in Sindh and Balochistan.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2020