KARACHI, Jan 23: Expressing concern over the deadlock in behind the scenes negotiations between the Sindh Chief Minister, Ali Muhammad Mahar, and his coalition partners on power-sharing, Pakistan People’s Party on Thursday warned that the situation was pushing the province to Governor’s rule.

The PPP legislators, Nawab Yousuf Talpur, Ijaz Jakhrani, Ayaz Soomro and Rafique Engineer, alleged in a statement that President Musharraf intended to take direct control of Sindh and install his own representatives to run the provincial affairs.

“Despite the lapse of three months after the formation of government, the coalition has taken no policy decision so far due to differences over power-sharing,” they observed.

The coalition, they said, was not capable to resolve the issues of price-hike, unemployment, lawlessness, kidnapping for ransom and chronic water shortage.

They pointed out that the government had also failed to come out with some sort of relief package for the poor whose condition had deteriorated to the extent that some people had even opted for suicide.

The PPP leaders warned that the situation might lead to collective suicides if measures were not taken to provide relief to the common man immediately.

Highlighting issues confronting sugarcane growers, the PPP legislators said that on the one hand, drought-like situation prevailed in the province amid worst-ever shortage of water while on the other, growers were being forced to destroy their crops because mill-owners were not offering a reasonable price of their produce.

They maintained that the upheaval resulting from the deterioration of situation could provide the Centre a pretext to impose Governor’s rule.—PPI