KARACHI - Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday reiterated that the Centre had cut around Rs 34 billion of Sindh from the federal share and asked opposition members belonged to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to demand their right from the federal government.
Speaking in the Sindh Assembly, Murad said that the federal government had revised Sindh share in federal transfers from Rs 665.085 billion to Rs 631.543 billion. He asked all parties of the assembly particularly those who were in coalition government in the centre — PTI, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and Grand Democratic Alliance — to demand for the rights of Sindh. “The centre should be asked to give due share to provinces,” said the CM.
Murad also expressed his displeasure over the behaviour of some opposition members who deliberately mispronounced his name during their protest while the budget was being presented on Friday. The protesting PTI members were chanting slogans ‘Na Murad Na Murad, Go Murad Go Murad’ on the budget day. The CM added the opposition reserved the right of protest but urged them not to utter personal remarks on anyone.
He also spoke on polio issue, saying that the provincial government was going to carryout campaign across the province. He once again sought all parties support to cater polio.
Centre cuts Rs 34b from Sindh share
Meanwhile, budget discussion was continued in the assembly as more 27 lawmakers spoke on the budget for next fiscal year. Rana Hamir Singh of the PPP was of the view that children death could not be controlled in Thar as the party has not lived up to the vision of Benazir Bhutto. “Many people hold malnutrition and child marriages a cause for children death in Thar but these issues persist for so long and toll has risen quire rapidly in the recent past,” he added.
Singh suggested that Lady Health Workers should be assigned to aware women of Thar as they s could help us reducing children deaths in Thar. He also came down hard on his own government over its failure to complete remodeling of Nara Canal. “Benazir Bhutto had initiated remodeling of Nara Canal in 1994 but despite lapse of several years, the same could not be completed.
The GDA’s Arif Mustafa Jatoi asked where the amount of Sindh development budget gone, adding that the whole amount was given to Omni group. “If there is shortage of funds with Sindh government why billions of rupees were invested Sindh Bank,” he said while adding that this was done by the PPP for its vested interest.
Rabistan Khan of PTI said that his constituency lacks adequate number of schools, adding that he had proposed schemes for establishment of schools in his constituency but the same was not incorporated in the budget. He was of the view that whosoever involved in corruption would not be pardoned. “We are preparing a container to put all corrupts in it and the same would be drowned,” said Rabistan.
The MQM-P’s Sanjay Parwani said that people belonged to minorities were not given employment on their quota. “There is five per cent quota for minorities in the government jobs but I don’t think it people belonged to minorities were given jobs,” he added.
Shazia Javed of the PPP condemned the arrest of Former President Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur and termed the same ‘drama’ to divert people attention from the federal government incompetence. The federal government gave nothing to Karachi but the PPP Sindh Government has done a lot for the city.