HYDERABAD: Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi on Friday said that the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) would challenge the Sindh government’s decision to declare Bundal and Buddo islands, off Karachi’s coast, as protected forests in court.

He said that both the islands fell within the territorial limits of the PQA as per coordinates taken during the then government of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1973 when the PQA Act was introduced.

Minister Zaidi, who is also the provincial president of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, was talking to journalists at the party’s Hyderabad office in Latifabad.

Responding to a question, he said according to Article 172 (Ownerless property) of the Constitution, all ownerless properties within the 12 nautical miles of the country’s territorial waters would belong to provinces, in this case Sindh.

Minister Ali Zaidi claims 2,300 acres in DHA Phase-VIII belong to PQA

He said beyond the 12 nautical miles limit all such properties fell within the federal limits.

He said that’s why the deep sea fishing was managed by the federal government and fisheries in Sindh and Balochistan by respective provincial governments.

“This means the islands have same ownership,” he said.

Mr Zaidi disclosed that the lease of 871 acres of Defence Housing Authority’s lands belonged to the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) while 2,300 acres of Phase-VIII of DHA belonged to the PQA.

He said that a naval base within these islands was leased by the PQA. He asked as to why the Sindh government was not managing thousands of other islands and only chasing the twin islands. “The only point is that it wants to stop development of Pakistan. The provincial government itself is grabbing entire Sindh,” he said.

Slams PPP’s long march

He criticised the Sindh government for its alleged bad governance during the past 14 years in the province and said that after 18th Amendment, police had been politicised and education had been destroyed while hospitals were in a bad shape.

Now, he said, the PPP chairman had announced a long march. “We have announced long march from Ghotki first,” he said while answering a question.

The PTI’s march would begin from Ghotki on Feb 26 and end in Karachi on March 6.

He said that the PTI is not worried about the opposition’s march. “We will offer them tea in Islamabad,” he said.

Speaking about the killing of five Bhand tribesmen and an SHO, he said that the Sindh police should be ashamed of the fact he did not allow police to nominate Ali Hassan Zardari in the murder FIR. “I will talk in the upcoming cabinet meeting about the removal of IGP-Sindh as he takes dictation from Bilawal House.

PTI leaders including Dr Mustansir Billah, Q. Hakim, Ameenullah Mehsud, Ali Palh were also present.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2022