KARACHI, May 23: The Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court expressed on Thursday displeasure over the lack of appreciation of the negative consequences for the employees while deciding to shift the offices of the Director-General Archaeology from Karachi to Lahore.
“Why such decisions are being taken. Were they out of their senses when they took the decision without taking into account the difficulties which families of the connected staff will be faced with,” observed the Chief Justice of the SHC, Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, when the petition challenging the controversial shifting came up before the division bench which also included Justice Ghulam Rabbani.
When the petition, filed by eight scholars professors and intellectuals, challenging the controversial order pertaining to shifting of the Central Archaeological Library and Antiquities from Karachi to Lahore came up before the division bench, deputy attorney-general Syed Zaki Mohammed submitted that only the offices of the director-general were being shifted. But he did not elaborate for what administrative reasons such an act had taken place.
He submitted that officials of the department concerned had informed him that no shifting of the Central Archaeological Library and Antiquities was taking place.
Iqbal Haider, senior advocate, represented the petitioners who challenged the order of the deputy director, and contended that the official had no jurisdiction to do so.
The petitioners are Sirajul Haque, who was present in the court, Fahim Zaman Khan, Professor Riazul Islam, Amar Jaleel, Dr Mohammed Suleman Shaikh, Mrs Shehnaz Ismail, Shaikh Khursheed Hasan and Bader Abro.
The Government of Pakistan, through the Secretary Ministry of Sports, Culture & Tourism, Islamabad; Director-General, Department of Archaeology & Museum Al-Asif Plaza, Shaheed-i-Millat Road, Karachi; Deputy Director (ADMN) Department of Archaeology Al-Asif Plaza, Shaheed-i-Millat Road, Karachi; Government of Sindh, through its Secretary Department of Culture, Tourism, Sports & Social Welfare, Sindh Secretariat, Karachi are respondents in addition to the United Nations Educational Scientific & Cultural Organization (Unesco) (Proforma Respondent).
The shifting order has generated bitter controversy at various levels, and it was the petitioners’ contention that the impugned order was in utter disregard of, and disrespect to, a decision of the federal government to decentralize.
According to them, officials of the respondent No 2 through an office order No 20A/1/93-ARCH (ADMN) dated May 3, the respondent No 3, Mohammed Younus Daar, Deputy Director, Department of Archaeology, issued instructions purportedly under the advice of the respondent No 1 to the officers and officials of the two branches, ie, Publication and P & D of the Department at Karachi to pack thousands of books of the Library and more than 150,000 antiquities along with the office equipment, fixtures and fittings for shifting from Karachi to the Fort at Lahore, on or before 15th May.
The said two branches were under the office of the respondent No 1 who administered and controlled the Library and Antiquities located in Hafiz Plaza on Sharea Faisal, Karachi, opposite the offices of the respondent No 2. Hence the transfer of the two branches meant and included shifting of the Library and the Antiquities as well as of more than 115 officers and employees of various grades performing their respective duties at the office of the respondent No 2.
In pursuance of the aforesaid impugned Order of May 3, officers and other employees of the respondent No 2 began the process of packing books, antiquities and assets of their office as well as their personal belongings for transfer from Karachi to the Lahore Fort.
On or about 6th May, the respondent No 2, the Director-General, Department of Archaeology and Museum at Karachi, had issued instructions to the Deputy Director Archaeology at Lahore to make room in the Lahore Fort to accommodate his two branches as well as thousands of books of the Central Archaeological Library and Antiquities which were properly catalogued, preserved and maintained at Karachi. He had instructed to arrange for office premises in the Lahore Fort and residential accommodation in Lahore for the families of more than 115 officers and employees of the respondent No 2.
On or about 7th May, the respondent No 2 requested the respondent No 1 to issue a formal notification for the shifting of his offices from Karachi to Lahore so that necessary account could be opened with the AGPR sub-office Lahore for the release of pay and allowances and other financial liabilities. In the said letter the respondent No 2 had also sought approval and release of Rs3,524,000 to meet the expenses on the shifting, as no funds were available with his office for such a huge expenditure.
It was their case that the impugned orders had been issued by the respondent Nos 3 & 2 without any jurisdiction or lawful authority, in violation of the Rules of Business of Government of Pakistan.
The respondent Nos 1 to 3 had no lawful power or authority to issue any order or instructions in violation of, or repugnant to, the earlier decisions of the federal government taken in 1995-96 and in 1998, whereby the proposed shifting of the offices of the respondent No 2, Library and Antiquities was not authorized by the competent authorities concerned.
It was also their contention that the impugned decisions were directly in conflict, and contrary to, the decision and policy specified by the federal government in 1998 to decentralize the administration and control of the protected archaeological sites and to hand over the same to the respective provincial governments for protection through their own department of archaeology. Even the present government was pursuing the same decision and policy.
It was their contention that the undue haste shown by the respondent Nos 1 to 3 in shifting the offices, libraries and antiquities exposed their ulterior, malafide motives, which were obviously illegal and immoral as well as against the very interest of national heritage simply because the lawful, bonafide and prudent manner and procedure involved precautionary and protective measure.
According to the petitioners, it was obvious from the wording of the impugned decision and the clarification, that the respondents were either completely ignorant about the provisions of the Antiquities Act of 1975, restrictions, rules and regulations prescribed by various Conventions of Unesco about preservation, use, packing and transfer of the heritage sites and antiquities or the respondents had no respect and regard for the same and had no hesitations in violating the aforesaid.
It was their case that the Lahore Fort has been declared one of the World Heritage Sites by Unesco. Under the Convention, the World Heritage Sites cannot be used, repaired, or altered except for the purpose and in the manner as originally specified. In any event the Lahore Fort has no space available for the shifting of the offices of the respondent No 2, its staff and to accommodate the Library or antiquities and its environmental conditions are very harmful for storing the antiquities and books in question.
Besides the lack of space, the environmental conditions resulting from seepage, moisture, dampness, growth of fungus and surfacing of harmful salts have promoted the biological agents which have caused rapid decay and damage to the Lahore Fort, in particular its underground chambers, which are unfit for storage of the antiquities and books in question.
The court adjourned the matter to a date in office and continued the stay granted in the previous hearing.