02 November 2004	Tuesday	18 Ramazan 1425

KARACHI, Nov 1: Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim has said that committees would be constituted to ensure transparency and merit in recruitment in various provincial departments.

"Merit will be the only criteria for getting jobs," he declared while talking to newsmen after an Iftar dinner hosted by provincial Minister for Education Dr Hamida Khuhro at her residence on Monday.

Clarifying a reported statement attributed to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, the chief minister said that Mr Aziz had talked about construction of only bigger dams, not Kalabagh dam, to overcome water shortage.

"I'm sure, and assure people of Sindh also, that no dam would be built in the country without a consensus among masses," he added.

About the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award issue, he said Sindh had not backed out from its principled stance on the Award. "A meeting is going to be held in Islamabad with prime minister Shaukat Aziz in the chair, and we hope Sindh will get its due share in resources," he said.

Regarding appointment of administrators before the upcoming local bodies elections, replacing district nazims, he said it was a federal subject and any decision in this regard would be taken by the Centre.

Dr Arbab said that the military leadership was approached for the maintenance of Sukkur Barrage as the armed forces possessed more sophisticated equipment and experts than civilian agencies to get the job done. "And there is nothing wrong in seeking army's help in the areas where they have skills and experience," he remarked.

When his attention was drawn to the deteriorating law and order situation in educational institutions of Karachi, he said, "it is a routine matter... measures are being taken to normalize the situation."

About disbursement of compensation among the families of the Imambargah Ali Raza bomb blast victims, the chief minister said he had approved the disbursement but owing to financial constraints, the Sindh government was not in a position to make the payment as much as the amount paid in such cases by the Punjab or Balochistan governments.

Criticizing the PML-N leadership, he said that not a single worker of that party had come to the airport to receive the body of Mian Sharif, father of the former premier Mian Nawaz Sharif. At Lahore airport also, he pointed out, only 2,000 party workers turned up to receive the body.

"I personally feel that Sharif brothers themselves disgraced their father as they did not bring his body by themselves. Instead, they got the job done by their servants."-PPI