Fundamental rights suspended in Sindh

KARCHI, Nov 20: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday suspended fundamental rights in Sindh province and called on the army to quel...

KARCHI, Nov 20: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday suspended fundamental rights in Sindh province and called on the army to quell violence in the provincial capital, Karachi. Sharif also announced the setting up of military courts in Karachi to try criminals and terrorists in a bid to stem violence and crime in the city.

“These courts will decide cases in days, not weeks,” said Sharif as he visited the city for the first time after dismissing the provincial government and announcing Governor’s rule in October.

Sharif said the decision was taken in the larger interests of Pakistan. He hoped that after these measures are taken, the situation in Karachi would come under control.

The Pakistan Prime Minister invoked Article 245 of the constitution under which no decision of the federal government can be challenged in any court of law and all fundamental rights remain suspended.

The Prime Minister’s latest step comes days after the opposition stood a combined stand against the decision bySharif to suspend the provincial Sindh assembly and disallow its session from taking place. The acting speaker of the Sindh Assembly, Jalal Shah, has challenged the government’s action in the Supreme Court.

There are strong indications that the Karachi-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party may be coming to a political understanding but MQM leaders said that before such an agreement can be reached, “there is a lot of groundwork to do.”

Sharif’s step to set up military courts comes after much dissatisfaction over the ineffectiveness of Governor’s rule in bringing down crime and terrorist activities in the city. In one instance, a bomb exploded near a site on Thursday hours after the Prime Minister visited the area.