Sindh Information Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said Sunday there had been ‘no decision’ to form a committee under the provincial chief minister, following a tri-party meeting held to resolve the metropolis’ issues a day earlier, a private TV channel reported.
The meeting in question was held on Saturday, with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Governor Imran Ismail, Information Minister Nasir Shah, Education Minister Saeed Ghani, federal ministers Asad Umar and Ali Haider Zaidi, Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar, and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairperson Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal in attendance.
It was earlier reported that a committee comprising PPP, PTI and the MQM-P members had been set up to resolve long-standing issues of Karachi. According to reports, the committee comprised three representatives each of the Centre and the provincial government. Chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, the committee had provincial ministers Nasir Hussain Shah and Saeed Ghani of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), federal ministers Asad Umar and Ali Zaidi of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and Aminul Haque of the Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan.
However, Sindh information minister Sunday said that during the tri-party meeting, only the bottlenecks to carry out development works and their solutions were discussed. “As far as the formation of a committee for execution of uplift works is concerned, no such decision was taken in the meeting,” he said, adding that the reason why the chief minister and relevant cabinet members held a meeting with the federal minister and his team was to work out the ways and means to remove the bottlenecks. “Some other issues, such as removal of sludge from storms water drains, sludge dumping at landfill sites, removal of encroachment from the nullahs, and the completion of the schemes that were earlier left incomplete were also discussed,” he added.
The minister categorically denied the constitution of any committee to carry out development works in Karachi. “Development of the city is the responsibility of the provincial government, which it is doing its best,” he said.
On the other hand, the spokesperson for the government of Sindh Senator Murtaza Wahab said the impression that a committee would undertake all of the work was wrong since whatever work was planned would be done by the Sindh government.
Speaking to a private TV channel, Wahab said the Sindh and federal governments had however decided that the development work in Karachi would be done in the best possible manner. “If the federal government wants to work in Sindh, it will consult the provincial government,” he said. “No government can deviate from the constitution,” he maintained.
Noting that all stakeholders agreed that Karachi is the highest-revenue-producing city, he vowed that the provincial government would try its best to ensure its federal counterpart made true on its promises.
The Sindh government spokesperson noted that in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI had abolished the local government system. Sindh, however, was the only province that has the system intact with the tenure set to expire on August 30. He observed that the ruling PTI’s leaders had continuously issued irresponsible statements and warned that they should refrain from doing so.
Separately, ruling PTI’s MPA from Sindh Khurrum Sher Zaman also spoke about the issues of Karachi and the discussions between the major parties from the city. Taking a harder line, he said the PPP had been given another chance for the development of Karachi. “This is the last option for the PPP; then the Centre will use its options,” he warned.
Noting that all parties must work together for Karachi’s development, he said the advisory committee’s formation was in the interest of Karachiites. “The Sindh government still has one chance to change the situation in Karachi. If it fails, the PTI will use whatever option necessary for the interest of the people,” he added.
Following the Saturday’s meeting, MQM-P’s Aamir Khan had said Karachi’s problems could not be resolved without giving full authority to its locals. “The problem of Karachi cannot be solved until the local people have full authority,” he said on Twitter. “This will only be possible when new provinces are established across the country including Karachi,” Khan added.
Meanwhile, PPP leader Raza Rabbani Sunday said Karachi was a part of Sindh and would continue to remain so. The PTI had previously issued a statement as well on separating the city from the province, he noted. Speaking at a press conference after the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting, the former Senate chairperson said such statements from the PTI leadership were not new.
