LARKANA: A three-member committee reached the deputy commissioner’s (DC) office here on Thursday and began investigation into the alleged issuance of domicile certificates to non-residents of the district/province.

Constituted by Sindh Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah, the body led by Sindh Board of Revenue (BoR) senior member Qazi Shahid Pervez has been mandated to inspect and scrutinise the record of domicile certificates issued in various districts of Sindh, a notification said. Its members are Dr Saeed Ahmed Mangnejo, secretary of the services, general administration and coordination department, and Nazir Ahmed Qureshi, deputy director (PRC) of the BoR Sindh.

The committee members, along with the additional deputy commissioner-I, visited the domicile branch and got the statements of the staff concerned recorded.

Talking to reporters, Mr Pervez said the entire staff of the domicile branch in the DC office had been changed; competent and trusted officials from the Larkana commissioner’s office were deputed to make the inquiry transparent.

A record of more than 21,000 domiciles issued in two years was taken into custody for scrutiny.

He said that initially 250 suspected domiciles were identified while one of them was confirmed fake. Prior to initiating the inquiry, the committee had set a criterion to check the papers of the suspected domiciles, he said, adding that the team members might go for field verification of the record.

If required, the record could be verified from other provinces to compile a transparent report so that justice could be done, he said.

Terming the issue sensitive, he said complaints on social media and Twitter had prompted the Sindh government to form the body. Some social activists had appeared before the committee, but failed to provide any authentic evidence.

He asked people that if they had any concrete proof regarding bogus domiciles, they should bring it to the notice of the committee till Friday in Larkana.

He said Citizenship Act 1951 authorised the DC to issue the domicile certificate, and the powers once delegated could not be transferred further legally. He said the committee would submit its report within seven days with recommendations.

If required, it would request the Sindh government to extend its period and expand its scope of the probe. The committee after completing inquiry here would visit another district for the purpose, the team leader said.

Dr Mangnejo said the body would scrutinise CNICs, academic certificates and residence certificates of the suspected cases. It would prepare a report with solid recommendations aimed at stopping issuance of bogus domiciles.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2020