Shahbaz should be in the country during crisis: CM Sindh

CM once again prophesies that PTI-led government will not complete tenure

HYDERABAD: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah emphasised the need of opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif to be present in the country given prevailing circumstances, while once again prophesying that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) federal government would not complete its tenure.

"There is a crisis in the country and the common man is under the burden of incessant inflation," he asserted while talking to the media in Sehwan, Jamshoro district, on Sunday, adding that this situation called for Sharif's presence in the country.

Shah reiterated that the federal government had failed on all accounts, leaving its coalition partners disgruntled. "Even the PTI's elected representatives are giving Prime Minister Imran Khan a tough time," he claimed. "It seems that the federal government will not complete its tenure.

He said that the inflation in food prices had proved how badly the Centre had failed, adding that the PM himself had admitted his government's failure in the recent wheat and sugar crises.

"Their schemes have not rendered any benefit to the people, and they won't in the future either, because the incumbent [PTI] government is incapable of doing any good to the public," he maintained.

The chief minister added, however, that the Pakistan Peoples Party [PPP] believed in only a democratic and constitutional change in government.

Commenting on the absence of PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari from Pakistan's political landscape, Shah said that Zardari was keenly observing the happenings in the country. He further stated that the party was taking guidance from Zardari's political acumen even though his health meant he could not actively participate in politics.

Responding to a question about local government elections, the CM said his government would hold the polls after the on-going delimitation of constituencies, following the 2017 census, was completed.

He attributed the slow pace of development work in Sehwan as well as the famed shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar to the curtailment of Sindh's funds by the Centre, adding that many projects had slowed down because the federal government had failed to transfer the provinces' due shares.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2020.