We are ready to hold LG polls: Murad

Says MQM is concerned about constituencies, not elections

KARACHI:

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that his government is under tremendous pressure from party workers to hold local body elections for which he is ready and making necessary arrangements.

This he said while talking to the media at St. Paul's School where he had presided over a cultural programme on Saturday.

Shah brushed aside the impression that his government was reluctant to hold local body elections. "We are under pressure from our party workers for holding local bodies elections," he said and added his government was ready to hold local government polls.

The CM said that the MQM has no reservations over the local government election, but they have some reservations over the constituencies. "We, the PPP and MQM are working together in the larger interest of the people of the province," he said and added, "We worked as coalition partners in 2008 and in 2013 but then the MQM decided to make a new experiment of working as partners with PML-N and PTI."

Murad Ali Shah said that when the no-confidence motion was being tabled against the PTI-led government the PPP and PDM leadership had held a number of meetings with MQM and they had also expressed their serious reservations against the government of Imran Khan.

He went on to say, the MQM quit the Imran government and joined the opposition. "This was how the PPP and MQM decided to work together," he added.

Shah said that it was not his first meeting with MQM-Pakistan leadership, but we have held a number of meetings to discuss public issues and resolve them.

Replying to a question, the chief minister said that the PTI Chairman, Imran Khan was a man of U-turns, and he didn't know what he said and what he meant, therefore, he has always backed out of his every narrative.

Shah said that the performance of the Imran government was zero. He had completely failed to resolve genuine issues of the country and instead created uncertainty.

"Why would we dissolve the assemblies on his demand?" he questioned and then replied that the people of the country have given us the mandate of five years, and we would complete our tenure in Sindh as well as in the Centre. "Let us see how his party would dissolve provincial assemblies in Punjab and KPK," he said and added, "He would fail again."

The CM said that when Imran Khan was the prime minister, he used to say that the assemblies would complete their tenure and when he was removed through a democratic and constitutional process, he started demanding the dissolution of assemblies.

To another question, the chief minister said that 80 per cent of flood/rainwater has been drained out but the rescue and rehabilitation work is still in progress.

"We have not left our people alone. We are putting all our efforts to extend every possible help to them," he said.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2022.