HYDERABAD: Qaumi Awami Tehreek president Ayaz Latif Palijo has accused the Pakistan Peoples Party of bargaining away census and stabbing Sindh in the back by attempting to fail the entire exercise in the province.

He said at a convention of Sindhiyani Tehreek — the party’s women’s wing — at Sindh Museum on Friday that in lieu of PPP’s stance over census, Ayyan Ali had already gone abroad while the likes of Dr Asim Hussain and Nisar Morai were no more facing the music for their ‘crimes’.

He said that despite the fact that the Sindh government had administrative powers for holding the census yet pencil was being used during enumeration process. The government should increase time frame for house listing for another three days, he said.

He said that Sindh could get its rights and rightful share in resources under the National Finance Commission award if the census was held in a transparent manner.

Mr Palijo said that corruption, terrorism and extremism were linked with each other. Therefore, the Raddul Fasaad operation should target the menace which had become cancerous for Pakistan, he said.

He asked why Bakhtawar, Aseefa, Maryam Nawaz and Kulsoom Nawaz were silent over ‘tyranny’ against the daughters of Sindh. The Sindhiyani Tehreek had played a dominant role in movements against Kalabagh dam, dual local government system and other anti-Sindh conspiracies by organising women and leading them on roads, he said.

Sindhiyani Tehreek president Zeenat Samoon said that jagirdars were enemies of women’s freedom and they did not support girls’ education. Because of the feudal lords, Fazila Sarki could not be recovered and justice could not be served to Naila Rind and her family. The Tehreek would never remain silent over excesses against women and anti-Sindh projects, she said.

QAT secretary general Anwar Soomro said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was meant to bring progress to Sindh but corruption, nepotism and terrorism were posing hurdles to CPEC. If the census showed Sindh’s population on the lower side, it would not be accepted, he warned.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2017