HYDERABAD: Former Sindh chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has criticised caretaker provincial government for transferring assistant commissioners (ACs) and said it would affect election work as the officers were working as assistant returning officers (AROs) as well.

The caretaker government had changed the ACs over “undue hue and cry” by Grand Democratic Alliance though it should not pay heed to their cries because they would keep making noise till the polling day, he said.

Mr Shah was speaking at a press conference at the residence of the party’s divisional chapter president Syed Ali Nawaz Shah on Wednesday.

He said sarcastically that GDA should at least avoid demanding expulsion of all people from Sindh because they would certainly vote for Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). “It is people who bestow victory on candidates not officers,” he said.

He said that GDA was a group of Tonga parties and they had forgotten that even Gen Zia had to postpone polls thrice because of PPP’s popularity and Gen Musharraf too was afraid of the party.

He asked GDA to give up crying and contest election. GDA would have 25 parties in 2023 election if they were a conglomerate of 20 parties now, he said in a lighter vein.

He lashed out at former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif for his remarks denigrating the people of Karachi and said he visited Karachi as if it was an enemy territory. Shahbaz Sharif targeted people of Karachi in particular and of Sindh in general, he said.

He said that throughout five years of rule PML-N government had remained indifferent to Sindh over issues of water, National Finance Commission Award and development sector.

He said that Shahbaz Sharif did not turn up at a meeting of Council of Common Interests convened by then premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as he never took him seriously. Shahbaz Sharif’s representative had opposed Sindh’s viewpoint on water at that meeting, he said.

Mr Shah reminded Shahbaz Sharif that it was Karachi which fed the entire Pakistan and was home to millions who had arrived from across Pakistan.

He said in response to Mr Sharif’s holding Sindh responsible for delay in completion of Green Line project that if Sindh had brought buses for the incomplete project it would have had to bear their cost under public private partnership project. PML-N had different approaches to projects in Rawalpindi and Sindh, he said.

He said that Mian Nawaz Sharif never spent a night in Sindh over his four years in office. “Nawaz and Shahbaz visited Karachi like viceroys,” he remarked.

Mr Shah admitted Sindh needed improvement but added that PPP had served people well. Sindh was neglected in terms of resource allocation in PML-N government while Punjab was given additional resources, he said.

He disputed the view that Punjab had made massive development and disclosed that Nooriabad power plant was not issued license by federal government for supply of electricity to Hyderabad Electric Supply Company and then the government had to sell it to K-Electric.

He said that water was a major issue confronting Sindh and that was why PPP government had invested in lining of irrigation channels which resulted in water conservation and increased per-acre productivity. Sindh government had also improved and expanded road network.

Mr Shah said that even Sanghar district which was said to be a bastion of GDA leaders had been connected with an impressive road network which was non-existent.

In Karachi as well, he said, PPP had become a force to reckon with. PPP would win seats in the metropolis’ district East besides South, West and Malir while it had made inroads in Central district.

About chief justice of Pakistan’s concerns over lack of storage dams, he said that it was a technical and political issue. He had told a CCI meeting that before construction of Tarbela Dam, 100 MAF water used to go downstream Kotri Barrage but now not even a drop of water was released while hardly 1MAF to 2MAF water was released in some years, he said.

He said that those who were concerned about the dam should ask people of Thatta and Sujawal how water shortage had ruined their lives.

He conceded infighting within MQM would indeed benefit PPP in Hyderabad and enable the party to throw surprises. PPP would make gains in Sukkur and Mirpurkhas cities, he claimed.

About raging controversy over distribution of party tickets, he said that election board had issued tickets to candidates after thorough deliberation. Those who were not given tickets must not violate party discipline because even party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had to appear before the election board for interview, he said.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2018