PTI is committed to Sindh’s water problems, says new leader

Nadir Khan Leghari used to be with the PML-Q and replaces Naeemul Haque.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf will be committed to Sindh’s water issues says its new Sindh president, Nadir Khan Leghari.

The ex-Pakistan Muslim League-Q Leghari replaced Naeemul Haq on March 31 after the party’s Sindh executive council was dissolved.

“The formulas for dealing with a water shortage and a water surplus are in the 1991 water accords,” said Leghari, who added that there should be no reason that Sindh experiences such massive water problems.

The new president says that his stance and that of the PTI’s has not changed one bit on the Kalabagh dam and that his record can be checked from the time when he was in office. He maintains that he is dead set against the dam.

Leghari was briefing the press at the PTI offices in Nursery where dozens of PTI workers had gathered, jostling to get in a position to be seated at the press conference.

Taking note of the violence gripping different parts of the city, Leghari said that evenhanded operations should be conducted. “I don’t understand what’s happening here, the major parties are in the government and then they are also the same ones making a noise about the situation in the city, it doesn’t make sense.”

Leghari said that the violence in the city is causing a flight of capital, something that many political parties have been complaining about but none have been able to stop.

A new “social contract” will be made when PTI comes to power, said Leghari but as with many of PTI’s plans, this, he says will be revealed later to the media.

“Petrol prices are increasing every month and the economy is going through an inverted tailspin and we have to save the country from going into total chaos. We have to arrest this economic downfall.”

Leghari says the police needs to be de-politicised for there to be any peace in the city and that new programmes on the grass roots levels have to be initiated so that people are empowered with ownership over their surroundings.

After the initial jostling over seats at the office the atmosphere got even more heated as party workers started pushing their way into where the press was seated with the leaders for tea. Following an exchange of colourful language between party workers trying to push their way inside, a scuffle broke out between an older party worker, who told his associate to, “get out your TT and stand in attention in front of the gate. Teach him some manners.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2012.