Khuhro rejects Shahbaz statement

Speaker asks Punjab to display political maturity and avoid destabilising country.

KARACHI:

Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Khuhro spoke out strongly against Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s statement calling for the creation of new provinces in Sindh.

Khuhro said that the Punjab has historically played a key role in exacerbating the feelings of alienation and deprivation among the other provinces. Such statements are borne out of hate and the chief minister has rubbed salt into the wounds of people living in Sindh with his words. This shall further destabilise Pakistan and reduce its sovereignty. Khuhro said that there exist big differences between the dynamics of Punjab and Sindh, both in terms of demographics and the demands of the native people.

The people of Punjab have consistently asked for the creation of a new province and the chief minister should closely examine the wishes of Punjabis.

On the other hand, the people living in Sindh do so in peace, love and harmony and have never raised the question of division. The speaker accused Punjab of playing anti-PPP and anti-Sindh politics. He said that the Punjab, by virtue of its position as the largest province, should display political maturity and avoid making such controversial and disparaging statements.

‘No demands for separate Karachi’

The city is an integral part of Sindh and there are no demands to separate it from the province, said Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed on Monday.

Talking to the media after a seminar on World Malaria Day, Dr Ahmed said that no one in Karachi wants autonomous status. “The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has a very clear stance and neither do we believe nor do we support the division of Sindh,” he said. Dr Ahmed is a member of MQM’s coordination committee. As for the proposed ‘autonomous’ status of federal government hospitals, he said that, all healthcare programmes and institutions are in the process of being transferred to the provincial governments.

with additional input from APP

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2011.