KARACHI:
The Constitutional Bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC), comprising Justice K.K. Agha and Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon, heard Acting Governor Owais Qadir Shah’s petition challenging the locking of Governor House offices.
The court ordered the immediate reopening of these offices and directed the principal secretary to submit a compliance report by June 23.
During the urgent hearing, the bench granted acting governor immediate access to the Sindh Governor’s official residence. The court specifically ordered the unlocking of all offices (excluding private residential quarters) and restrained the principal secretary from obstructing the acting governor’s access.
The court also directed that a copy of the judicial order be transmitted to the President of Pakistan and the Principal Secretary of the Governor’s House, Sindh.
In the petition, it was averred that since assuming charge, the Acting Governor, Owais Qadir Shah, has been denied entry to the Governor’s House for official duties which is a violation of Article 104 of the Constitution. Governor Kamran Tessori has been abroad since June 2.
Acting Governor of Sindh, Owais Qadir Shah, informed the court that a meeting on law and order in the was scheduled for today, specifically to discuss matters related to Muharram. The home minister, secretary, IG Sindh, and other officials reached for the meeting.
However, the principal secretary stated that the governor had taken the office keys with him. Owais Qadir Shah stated that this was an act of considering the Governor’s House as their personal lounge.
He cited the Constitution, which clearly states that in the absence of the governor, the acting governor can perform duties.
Owais Qadir Shah said, he would write to the chief minister, highlighting that this was a mockery of the Constitution.
