KARACHI, Oct 17: The provincial chapter of the Pakistan People’s Party on Tuesday demanded that 2002 voters’ list should be updated and the time for registration of voters should be extended as more than 40 per cent of voters were unable to get themselves enrolled.
PPP Sindh President Syed Qaim Ali Shah while making this demand in a news conference after the Sindh executive’s meeting at the People’s Secretariat warned that the party would launch a protest if its demands were not accepted.
The PPP Sindh executive held a detailed discussion on the enrolment of voters and termed the present state of affairs as pre-poll rigging. He said that protest would be launched after Eid.
Shah said the election commission itself admitted that the voter's enrolment in Sindh was less then the 2002 voter's list.
Mr Shah said that Sindh was affected due to heavy rains and still the situation in some districts was not normal while a large number of people have been migrating to Sindh and influx of the population was continuing from other provinces.
He said that despite complaints lodged with the election commission regarding the process in Sindh, no action had been taken to resolve this issue and finally the enrolment campaign was over.
Shah said the condition of the Nadra card for enrolment was also a hurdle in the registration of voters and demanded that this condition be withdrawn.
He said the sale of islands was not only illegal and unconstitutional but it was also an act against the provincial autonomy.
He said under the law the land is the property of the Sindh and transfer of land to any other foreign investor without consultation of the province was injustice with the people of the province.
Mr Shah said the party also expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation, increasing street crimes, epidemic mosquito-borne diseases VHF (Viral Hemorrhagic Fever) and sale of two Sindh Islands.
The sale of islands was not only illegal and unconstitutional but it was also an act against the provincial autonomy, he said, adding under the law the land is the property of the Sindh and transfer of land to any other foreign investor without consultation of the province was injustice to the people of the province.
The Sindh PPP chief said the island issue was the same case of the Pakistan Steel, which the Supreme Court declared indecent haste.
He said the Sindh government had allotted land to Port Qasim Authority for its operational purposes and PQA could not transfer it to the federal government or any other organization for any other purpose.
Shah said there was a report that PQA had transferred the two islands to DHA which was illegal. He said any foreign investor should deal with the Sindh government if they wanted investment on this land.
Mr Shah claimed that the deteriorating law and order situation, particularly the street crimes, were also discussed and the government was condemned for its alleged failure in maintaining law and order situation.
He said four MQM lady MPAs were robbed, but the government was silent. Rejecting the claim of the chief minister that he had nothing to do with the law and order situation as it was the matter of MQM minister, Shah said after all the chief minister was responsible for the whole the government.
He said the federal government was also violating the constitution by dealing with foreign investors to set up coal powered plants in Sindh while it was the jurisdiction of the Sindh government.
He said, like NWFP, the government should also pay gas royalty to Sindh. Mr Shah also expressed concern over increase in VHF cases in Sindh and termed it a failure of the Sindh government.
