'Centre holding up Sindh’s funds'

CM Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah claims Bilawal has stepped up in Shahbaz's absence, is facing personal attacks from PTI

HYDERABAD: The Centre has stopped the transfer of Rs140 billion under the National Finance Commission award to Sindh, creating a shortage of funds for development projects, claimed Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

Addressing the media in Sehwan on Monday, he also said that his government had not yet fixed the procurement prices for wheat, adding that in light of the recent wheat crisis, he planned to procure 1.4 million tonnes of the crop.

"We will fix the price keeping in view the shortage of funds and the prevailing situation," he said, adding that the government would try to subsidise wheat farmers once its own financial situation improved.

The CM again criticised Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president Shahbaz Sharif over his continued absence from National Assembly sessions, despite being the opposition leader. "In his absence, [Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson] Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has been exposing the federal government's flawed policies, and due to this, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is subjecting him to personal attacks," he claimed.

Shah further attributed the deteriorating law and order situation in the province to a lack of coordination between the Sindh government and the police, adding that Sindh police chief Dr Kaleem Imam had become controversial.

Asked about a project to widen a 132-kilometre section of the Indus Highway between Sehwan and Jamshoro, the CM blamed the Centre for the slow construction. He explained that the federal and provincial governments had agreed to equally divide the cost, after which Sindh had given seven billion rupees to the Centre in 2017.

He added that the Sindh government had written to the Centre several times about the project, asking it to allow the province to complete the roadwork. According to him, they had asked the federal government to return Sindh's money and also release its own share to finish the project.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2020.