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| August 18, 2005 | Thursday | Rajab 12, 1426 |
Registration in madressahs’ interest: Arbab
HYDERABAD, Aug 17: Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim has said the provincial government will register madressahs as the Societies Registration Act has been amended by the governor recently.
He added that only a few people were resisting the registration. He observed that in fact the registration would benefit madressahs because they would get government’s grant, which was already being given to NGOs.
He was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a water supply scheme for 52 villages of the Qasimabad taluka and later speaking to journalists at a filter plant on Tuesday morning.
The chief minister maintained that students of madressahs were also keen to study other subjects and referred to some students of a Chhachhro-based seminary of the Tharparkar district. He further said people also wanted to arm their children with religious and modern education.
When asked whether the Sindh government had reports that madressahs were involved in lawlessness in Karachi, he said he did not have any such information.
About the Kalabagh dam, he said a study was essential for determining the quantum of water release downstream Kotri. He said a survey was being conducted regarding release of Kotri downstream water into the sea.
He claimed that surplus water was flowing into the sea while people were facing shortage of water. He added that breaches in canals had also been reported recently, inundating many villages. He maintained that this water could have been utilized to bring more lands under cultivation. He, however, said it was a separate issue where and how this water should be stored.
Answering a question about president’s approval of change in the design of the Kalabagh dam, he said the president had disapproved of canals and Punjab had also raised objection over it. He said it was up to the technical committee to discuss the issue.
The chief minister expressed the hope that after the local body elections, the president would announce the National Finance Commission award because the provinces had failed to evolve a consensus on distribution of the award. “The finance minister has told me that under such circumstances the president has to announce the award as per constitutional provisions,” he said. He added that the award could not be passed if any province showed disagreement.
Referring to the local body elections, he rejected opposition parties’ claims of pre-poll rigging.
He hoped that the elections would be held in a peaceful manner. He said police, Rangers and armed forces would be deployed wherever deemed necessary.
He asserted that many people would be present outside polling stations because there were 13 candidates for each union council and so many panels were contesting so the question of rigging in their presence did not arise. Secondly, he said, presiding officers had been given magisterial powers.
Earlier, after inaugurating the water supply scheme, he expressed satisfaction over the development work in Hyderabad and said a package for the Qasimabad taluka and creation of more union councils would be considered after the elections because it was not possible during the polls process.
He criticized outgoing nazims for allegedly failing to discharge their responsibilities. He claimed that the district government of Shikarpur had destroyed the sanitation system of the city. He said the city remained submerged by filthy water.
The chief minister urged people to elect honest people.
He said the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, 2001, had been suitably amended, empowering the chief minister to have check and balance over nazims.
Former Qasimabad taluka nazim Noor Mohammad Shoro, former union council-4 nazim Deedar Shoro and DCO Hyderabad Mohammad Hussain Syed also spoke on the occasion.
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