HYDERABAD, June 8: Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal senator Prof Abdul Ghafoor Ahmad has observed that after replacement of the Sindh chief minister, changes at the centre cannot be ruled out.
Speaking at a news conference at the Jamaat-i-Islami office here on Tuesday, he said that the leader of the majority party, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, had already said that there were over 50 candidates for the prime minister's slot.
He, however, said that the change of the chief minister in Sindh would not make any difference. The Sindh Assembly was just a rubber stamp as it only would endorse appointment of a new chief minister as directed by Islamabad and London, he regretted.
The MMA leader expressed concern over the prevailing political situation in the country. He maintained that the only priority of the people in authority was to save their chairs and they were least interested in serving the masses.
He said that a gulf had developed between army and people which was dangerous for integrity and solidarity of the country. Senator Ahmad said that all key posts in the civil administration had been handed over to army officials and a ban had been imposed on fresh appointments, including appointments of doctors and paramedical staff.
He said that the masses loved army but the situation had reached such a stage that people were demanding cuts in the defence budget. He said that the main reason was that those who were supposed to be defending geographical frontiers of Pakistan were ruling over the country.
The MMA leader said that promises made by Gen Pervez Musharraf were hoax, adding that during his regime, there had been 80 per cent increase in lawlessness, corruption, maladministration and prices of commodities.
He said that assemblies had been rendered ineffective. Following the general election, he added, it was hoped that the real power would be transferred to elected representatives of people as directed by the Supreme Court but the power still remained with army generals.
He said that the situation could be gauged from the fact the prime minister who was the chief executive called Gen Musharraf his boss. Prof Ahmad, who is also Naib Amir of the Jamaat-i-Islami, claimed that 50 per cent of the population in Pakistan was living below the poverty line but the government was blowing trumpet about the increase in foreign exchange reserves.
He maintained that the MMA was not the sole opposition party in parliament and said that the MMA and the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy should join hands to perform the role of an effective opposition. About Sindh, the senator said that the demand of people of the province and opposition parties was removal of the governor and not of the chief minister.
He regretted that 40 people had died in Hyderabad and its suburbs due to consumption of poisonous water but the president, prime minister and the Sindh governor had not visited the city to offer some solace to bereaved families. Not only this, he added, but no affected family had been paid compensation announced by the chief minister.
He criticized the Sindh government for the negligence. Saying that removal of some junior officers was no solution to the crisis, he demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter to identify the negligent officials.
He said that a murder case should be registered against the delinquents. The others who were present at the press conference included Maulana Abdul Waheed Qureshi and Shaikh Shaukat Ali.
