Sindh seeks to empower PWDs, says Murad

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday reaffirmed his commitment to inclusivity and empowerment at a special event celebrating the International Day for Persons with Disabilities 2024.

Organsed by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPD), the event highlighted resilience, talent, and leadership, with this year's theme being "Amplifying the Leadership of Persons with Disabilities for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future."

The event brought together distinguished guests, including notable figures such as Haseeb Khan, Marvon Lobo, Tabish Shehzad, Ronak Lakhani, Richard Geary, and Zakaria Goodal, as well as families of individuals with disabilities. Secretary DEPD, Taha Farooqui, lauded the chief minister's exemplary contributions to the welfare of PWDs.

CM Shah emphasised his government's significant progress in providing opportunities for PWDs. He spoke passionately about various initiatives in health, inclusive education, vocational training, employment, and rehabilitation, stressing the importance of collaboration with private institutions to create comprehensive and inclusive centres.

Water shortage hinders cultivation

CM Murad Ali Shah, addressing the Young Parliamentarian Forum delegation, emphasised that historical records indicate that in 1919, Sindh was cultivating four million acres of land using inundation canals and according to the Sindh Crop Reporting Services' figures from 2023, the province now irrigates 4.6 million acres through 14 irrigation canals fed by three barrages in Sindh.

Murad Shah said that Sindh has struggled to increase cultivation due to a persistent water shortage and warned that developing additional canals in this context could threaten the province's agricultural economy.

He pointed out that from 1976 to 2024, there were only two years when the River Indus had a surplus of water; otherwise, the region has experienced a continuous shortage. Since the signing of the water accord, Sindh has faced an average shortfall of 11 per cent.

The delegation from the Young Parliamentarian Forum urged the Chief Minister to provide them with data on available water resources so they could support his cause in Parliament. Parliamentarians from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan also expressed their intention to raise the issue in the National Assembly. Senior Minister for Information Sharjeel Memon, Minister Irrigation Jam Khan Shoro and Minister Local Bodies Saeed Ghani also attended the meeting.

The delegation who called on the CM include President PYF Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar, General Secretary Mir Jamal Khan Raisani, Information Secretary Iqbal Khan, Syed Ali Qasim Gillani, Ali Jan Mazari, Danyal Chaudhary, Raja Osama Sarwar Barrister Aqeel Malik, Miqdad Ali Khan, Saad Waseem, Salahuddin Junejo, Kiran Imran Dar, Muhammad Saadullah, Usman Ali, Akhtar Bibi, Shaista Khan, Pir Ameer Ali Shah Jeelani, Zulfiqar Bachani, Shamoon Hashmi, Muhammad Mushtaq, Zafar Sultan, Raja Muhammad Ali and Muhammad Nauman.