Sindh CM warns against giving ethnic colour to Ranjhani's murder

People living in Sindh regardless of any language they speak are Sindhis, says Shah

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that some elements are trying to give an ethnic colour to the murder of Irshad Ranjhani. He added that it was a murder of a human being and had been handled as per law.

This he said on Wednesday after inaugurating Mir Ghulam Mohammad Talpur Degree College in Tando Bago, Badin district. He was accompanied by Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah.

He said that he was not concerned about the ethnicity of Ranjhani or what language he spoke, but the way he was killed, in cold-blooded manner, which was not only a crime against humanity, but also an open challenge to the writ of the government. "I'll not spare anybody who takes law into his hand," he said.

Shah said, "This is not a linguistic issue, but a crime against humanity and the law has taken its due course". He added, "Nobody will be allowed to spread hatred in the society".

Referring to the murder of three labourers in Larkana on Wednesday as a painful occurrence, the CM warned that he would consider anyone who tried to sabotage peace in Sindh by killing innocent people as his personal enemy. "People living in Sindh regardless of any language they speak are Sindhis," he said.

Fake account case

Replying to a question, the CM said that when the name of Pakistan Peoples Party Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto and his name appeared in the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report, the Chief Justice had questioned the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) about the veracity of the report. He said that while the Chief Justice had directed FIA to remove Bilawal and his from the report, these directives were not followed.

"We have challenged the JIT which has become controversial and has lost its credibility," he said.

Shortage of funds

Responding to another question, the chief minister said that the federal government had failed to achieve its recovery targets. As a result, he said, the provincial governments were facing a financial crisis. "I have conveyed my concerns to the knowledge of the federal government," he said adding that the efficiency of the FBR needed to be improved or the size of the divisible pool would further decrease resulting in damage to the development endeavours of the provinces.

He disclosed that 82% of the provincial government budget was provided by the federal government from the divisible pool through straight transfers. "If the federal government fails to achieve its revenue collection targets, the provincial governments will suffer," he said.

College opening

Earlier, Shah inaugurated Mir Ghulam Mohammad Talpur Degree College. College Education Secretary Parvez Sehar briefed the CM about the project.



The project was launched in 2008 but its completion had been delayed. It was finally completed last month.

The CM visited various classrooms and offices and interacted with the students. Addressing the principal of the college, he said that Badin had been the city of educationists who established schools, sent students abroad for higher education and gave scholarships. "Now, I want you [Principal] to revive the legacy of Khanbahadur Ghulam Mohammad Talpur, Mir Bande Ali Talpur and such other educationists by providing quality education," he said.

Centenary of school

The CM later attended Centenary of Mir Ghulam Mohammad Talpur School. The 100-year celebration of the school was organised by old boys association.

CM said that Sindh was the seat of learning, but now, "We are struggling to restore our past glory". He added that Talpur was the Sir Syed of Badin.

He visited the old building, the classes, the labs, library and the mess and announced to restore the old building.  The boy's school was functioning successfully but the girl's school had come to standstill because it had no female teacher. Talpur not only found a lady teacher in Hyderabad but had shifted her along with her family to Badin and settled her just for sake of girls' education. "This was the dedication and devotion for the cause of education of the people," he said.

Shah said that he had visited Tando Bago, which is one of the oldest and historic cities of the province, and announced to reconstruct all its roads and drainage. "We are facing shortage of funds but I would spare some [funds] for Tando Bago," he vowed.

He also announced to provide best health facilities in Tando Bango by improving its hospitals. "We are running DHQ Badin hospital on PPP [public-private partnership] mode successfully and will try to replicate a similar arrangement in Tando Bago," Shah said.

Talking about irrigation issues, the CM said that Badin was located at the tail-end of the river system, which was why its residents were perpetually facing water shortage. He vowed to improve the canal system in Badin so that every farmer, big or small would get his proper share.