KARACHI, Nov 13: Sindh National Front Chairman Sardar Mumtaz Ali Bhutto has called upon sugarcane growers of Sindh not to rely on the government for any relief. Instead, he advised, they should deal with sugar mill owners directly and stop cultivating sugarcane.

In a statement, Sardar Bhutto impressed upon the growers to switch over to other crops like cotton, sunflower, etc., which could earn them handsomely and more than they earned from sugarcane. “We ourselves have switched over to other crops,” the SNF chief said, adding that people of Sindh, especially growers, must decide their course themselves as no one else was their friend or well-wisher.

Referring to law and order, he said the lawlessness in Sindh had gone out of the government’s control. He claimed that in Shah Belo, Sukkur, many people were held hostages by dacoits while police were not ready to rescue them.

This, he regretted, had forced the families of the hostages to knock at the doors of Patharidars for help in getting the victims released.

If the government is unable to provide security to the life and property of the citizens, it should lift the ban on sale of arms and scrap the licences system so that people could keep weapons to ensure protection to their life, property and honour. He was of the view that people could sell off their belongings to buy arms in such a situation.