KARACHI: Allegations of corruption in the water sector hit the very core of the enforcement machinery put into place by Karachi to curb any criminal acts related to water when it was revealed that the police station set up for just such purposes was itself embroiled in an act of misconduct.
Whereas the station used to go after the black market water sellers, they are now being charged with helping them out and harassing the honest businessmen by demanding bribes from them. The case regarding the water scam in Karachi has been officially submitted to the Inspector General of Sindh.
Licensed Owner Rejects Payment Demands – But Pays Differently
Waqas Malik is the owner and operator of an RO filtration unit located at Gulshan-e-Iqbal, operating on a license issued by the Sindh Food Authority in the year 2023. All his activities are within the bounds of the law regarding water filtration services in Pakistan, which includes a pending application for sub-soil and bore water licensing as per the applicable 2024 guidelines.
The formal letter written by Malik to the IG Sindh is an indication of a long history of water theft in Karachi that started when SHO Mazhar Iqbal Awan of Water Corporation police station demanded bribes in return for not taking legal action against Malik.
Bribe Refusal is Cited as Reason for the Filing of a False Case of a Criminal Nature
Malik says that SHO Mazhar Iqbal Awan acted in conjunction with some of the Water Corporation’s officials by filing a false FIR against him for the theft of water despite his refusal to pay a bribe. The FIR cited Section 2/39, which Malik believes was purposely invoked by authorities as grounds for filing a criminal case against him.
The legal grounds raised by Malik are well-defined and clear-cut. The provisions of section 2/39 are relevant only where there is an illegal connection with the Water Corporation pipeline, which is not the case with subsoil/bore water activities that have nothing to do with any infrastructure belonging to the Water Corporation. His unit has no connection with the latter whatsoever.
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What This Karachi Water Scam Affair Says about Karachi
The Karachi water scam affair involving the Water Corporation’s police station highlights an organizational problem that is much larger than the SHO and the businessman involved. The unit created to fight any kind of water-related scams has reportedly used the powers at its disposal to collect money rather than to target licensed operators, and those making payments through bribes have been allowed to continue their operations unimpeded.
The reverse of roles inherent in this case raises questions regarding the legitimacy of all enforcement actions by the Water Corporation police station in the past. This means that the issue of Karachi water corruption exists through the very tool devised to fight it.
The Case Has Moved Up to the Senior Officers
The case of the corruption in Karachi water was sent straight to IG Sindh and other senior officers in the police force by Malik. He avoided using the lower station channels because of possible conflicts of interest.
Now the case is at the hands of the upper echelons of law enforcement officials in Sindh province. It depends on how they handle this that the accountability mechanisms within institutions will be working fine or not when the accused is himself part of the institution, protecting whom he was supposed to.
