Fawad slams Sindh govt for ‘zero development’ despite being given funds

Information minister says 'whole nation suffers for having to save citizens of Sindh and Karachi from suffering'

KARACHI:

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry slammed the Sindh government on Sunday for failing to develop the province despite receiving billions from the Centre in the name of development.

The information minister added that despite receiving so much money, the Sindh provincial government has not been able to fix its own police department, and every year it begs the federal government to allow Rangers to stay in the province.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, the federal minister accused Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah of pursuing nationalist politics. “He [Murad] is separating himself from the politics of Benazir and Zulfiqar Bhutto,” Fawad remarked.

"Sindh has been given Rs1600 to Rs1800 billion in the past three years,” Fawad claimed, adding that, “Sindh’s share has been increased even in this budget. They got so much money but where did it go?”

According to the federal minister, the entire nation was suffering for the sake of having to save the citizens of Sindh and Karachi from suffering.

Read Sindh minsters call budget ‘robbery, economic murder’

“Article 140A needs to be implemented in Sindh at present. Governor Raj is not a solution as it is an undemocratic process,” he maintained.

He added that the federal government provided 500 MW electricty to the K-Electric. "The provision of additional power was the reason why the people of Karachi do not face load shedding in this scorching heat,” he stated.

The federal minister further maintained that Sindh will receive a further Rs700-Rs750 billion this year.

In the past few years, around Rs90 million have been spent on district Larkana but no work is visible, Fawad said.

Furthermore, the informaitno minister added that monetary funds have also been taken for district Badin, Ghotki and other areas with no evident development.

“How long will Sindh be run by awarding contracts to favored contractors,” he questioned, adding that, “Most plebiscite cases are also from Sindh.”

'Year of growth'

The minister informed the media that the country witnessed a record crop of wheat, rice and maize this year. "Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the inflation rate in Pakistan remained low and the government reduced the price of small vehicles in this year’s fiscal budget," he added.

Furthermore, the minister said that taxes were also reduced, whereas and the minimum wage was raised to Rs20,000.

“This year will be a year of growth and improvement for the common man. I am happy that all sections of Pakistan have welcomed the budget,” he stated.

'Read before you reject'

“However, one of the virtues of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is that they reject everything without reading it,” the minister noted. He said that the PML-N didn’t even bother reading the budget before rejecting it completely.

Read more Opposition’s hue and cry fails to thwart budget session

He added that the party had also not even looked at the electronic voting machine (EVM) before rejecting it.

“They claim that elections are failing but do not want election reforms,” Fawad observed, adding that, “These people are already claiming that the next election will be rigged.

Accusing the PML-N of rejecting everything, the federal minister said they want to deny overseas Pakistanis their right to vote, as senior party leader Ahsan Iqbal claimed that overseas Pakistanis are not aware of Pakistan's issues.

Condemning such remarks, the federal minister maintained that the overseas Pakistanis are the ones sending money to their own country instead of taking the money out.

“Nawaz Sharif, Ishaq Dar and their sons are also overseas. What do you think about them?” Fawad commented.