KARACHI: A spokesman for Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah dismissed on Tuesday the criticism levelled at the provincial government by three former chief ministers and said that it was without any tangible reason.

Commenting on the press conference of the three former CMs, Ghaus Ali Shah, Liaquat Khan Jatoi and Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, the spokesman said that they forgot their respective tenures in which law and order situation all over the province was critical.

He said that during the tenure of Mr Jatoi kidnapping was on the rise and renowned philanthropist and former Sindh governor Hakeem Mohammad Said was killed. “If the performance of his government is seen it was full of mismanagement, corruption and inefficiency. Therefore, his prime minister had removed his government.”

He said that while Mr Jatoi had claimed that in Dadu there were 7,500 non-functional schools, it was a matter of fact that the total number of schools in Dadu was 2,221, of which 71 were closed.

About Dr Rahim’s tenure, the spokesman said that even judges were kidnapped from the area between Shikarpur and Larkana in his tenure and they were freed after payment of huge ransom.

The law and order situation during his tenure was pathetic and he was also involved in political victimisation of his opponents. He did not spare even people of Thar, arrested prominent leader Jam Saqi and got registered a case of possessing explosives.

Talking about Mr Shah, the spokesman said that during his tenure the Sukkur jail was broken and notorious dacoits escaped. The Sohrab Goth and Qasba Colony carnages were the worst incidents of his tenure. The Bushra Zaidi incident that sparked ethnic violence in Karachi also took place during his tenure as CM.

The PPP government launched a targeted operation in Karachi and restored peace to the city considerably, he said, adding: “We are not saying that everything is good during the PPP tenure but the government is serving people sincerely.”

Development schemes of education dept reviewed

The CM has asked the education department to prioritise their development schemes, which were supposed to be completed by the end of June 2014 and asked to the provincial works and services department to expedite the pace of development work and ensure their completion within the stipulated period.

Chairing a high-level meeting here on Tuesday at the CM House, Mr Shah said that the PPP government kept the education department at the top of its 5Es programme with an allocation of Rs120 billion, including Rs10bn for its schemes under the annual development programme.

He asked the officers concerned to conduct a survey of all secondary and higher secondary schools/colleges and prepare a proposal for their upgradation.

Senior Sindh Minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, who holds the portfolio of education, informed the meeting that there were 50,000 schools in Sindh with 4 million students and 150,000 teachers.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2014