Sindh local body polls to be held before general elections: Murad

Sindh CM says polls to take place on basis of political parties; calls on PDM to unite Opposition

SEHWAN:

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said on Sunday that local body elections in the province will be held on the basis of political parties, and will take place before the general elections.

Talking to media agencies in Sehwan, the CM emphasised that these elections would be held in a way that raised no objections.

He acknowledged that there were objections on census results, adding that the evidence of which had been presented to the Council of Common Interests.

Murad added that he was exercising his constitutional right to convene a joint sitting of parliament and will be writing a letter to this effect.

'PDM must unite opposition'

The CM further added that parties in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) should try to unite the opposition.

Read ‘PPP will give surprise in local govt polls’

He recalled that it was Bilawal Bhutto Zardari - Pakistan Peoples Party chairman - who called an All Party Conference (APC) after which the PDM was formed.

Murad added that the purpose of convening the meeting was to get rid of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government. "However, some people demanded the resignation of Bilawal instead," he added.

'Pakistan's foreign policy failing'

Criticising the federal government, the Sindh chief minister stated that, "Pakistan’s foreign policy was failing and that relations with Iran, Afghanistan and China were being affected. However, we are trying to maintain good relations with China."

He accused the federal government of exacerbating inflation and called on all opposition parties to unite against it.

The CM said that he condemned the media trial of Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani. He maintained that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) could not provide any evidence in its attempts to discredit Durrani.

Murad added that the federal government had approved a plan for the restoration of Lake Manchar in 2017. However, the PTI government stopped the project a year later, after it formed the government.