|
|
|
| 27 October 2004 | Wednesday | 12 Ramazan 1425 |
Sindh needs Rs3bn for recruitments: MQM
ISLAMABAD, Oct 26: A four-member delegation of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement called on President Gen Pervez Musharraf here on Tuesday and sought financial assistance to initiate a process of recruitment in Sindh.
Talking to reporters at an Iftar dinner arranged by the party, MQM's deputy convener Dr Farooq Sattar said that the party had apprised the president about financial difficulties being faced by the Sindh government in starting work on several development projects.
Dr Sattar said that at present there were 48,000 vacancies in Sindh and the provincial government had decided to fill the posts. However, he said, the provincial government was facing a financial crisis and needed at least Rs3 billion from the federal government to initiate fresh recruitments.
He said that the MQM delegation had asked the president to empower the provincial and federal ministers because the writ of the government could not be established without it. He said that the president was also asked to take action against elements who wanted to destabilise the political process by what they termed hatching conspiracies against the MQM.
Dr Sattar was accompanied by Minister for Shipping Babar Ghauri, MNA Syed Haider Abbas Rezvi, Sindh Minister for Transport and Industry Adil Siddiqui.
He said they had also raised the issue of giving ownership rights to the people living for a long time in government quarters in the G-6 sector in Islamabad and Jahangir Road in Karachi. He said the president had assured the delegation that the issue would be taken up by the cabinet.
He said that the MQM team had also stressed the need for reviving Karachi Circular Railway system and the Mass Transit Project. He said that the president was informed that the party wanted to restore the circular railway system within a few months.
Dr Sattar said that the issue of the local government elections also came under discussion in the 90-minute meeting. The MQM, he said, had told the president that the elections should be held on party basis.
Dr Sattar said that the MQM members also raised the issue of non-implementation of the 7th Wage Board Award for newspaper employees. He said the president was told that all the four provincial assemblies and the National Assembly were behind him on the issue as they had already passed resolutions for the implementation of the wage board award.
Dr Sattar said that MQM's chief Altaf Hussain would visit India in the first week of November but the issue was not discussed with Gen Musharraf. He expressed the hope that the visit would play a significant role in the ongoing peace efforts between the two countries. Responding to a question, he said Mr Hussain would effectively highlight Pakistan's viewpoint before the Indian leadership.
He said that the MQM chief would take Gen Musharraf into confidence about his visit to India on telephone.
About the Gen Musharraf's proposal on Kashmir issue, he said the party's coordination committee would discuss the matter and finalize MQM's stand in this regard. However, he said, the time had come to take practical steps to improve relations with India. He said that there was a need to change the traditional approach on the Kashmir issue. He said that Pakistan had changed its initial principled stand on Kashmir even in the Shimla Accord.
He said that the MQM wanted what he termed a "decentralised democracy" and was ready to cooperate with all political parties for permanently eliminating the role of the armed forces in politics, but it could not support the opposition's present movement aimed only at bringing some other party into power.
|
|
|
|