HYDERABAD, June 5: Leading writers, intellectuals and leaders of public opinion have said that the government has been facing a serious problem of legitimacy which has created a sense of insecurity among the people of Sindh. They were speaking at the third meeting of the Sindh Consultative Forum (SCF) here on Friday.

They said that by sidelining major political parties, Gen Musharraf was planning to hold fake local bodies and national elections and to use agencies to ensure landslide victory for religious and other rightist elements, tribal lords and stooges of the feudal gentry and the MQM.

Prominent among those who attended the meeting included Awami Tehrik chief Rasool Bux Palijo, Ayaz Latif Palijo advocate, Nazeer Memon, A.G. Chandio, Abrar Qazi and Qadir Ranto.

They said excesses were being committed against Sindh in the name of good governance while most of the ministers were facing charges of corruption and other crimes.

They said the Punjabi establishment and its partners in Sindh –- the MQM and waderas — were pushing Sindh and Pakistan towards an unimaginable disaster.

On behalf of the people of Sindh, leaders of the forum demanded that construction of the greater Thal canal should be stopped immediately, the idea of Kalabagh dam should be abandoned forever and the NFC award should be announced on the basis of net contribution of each province to the centre and economic deprivation.

They said that unjust distribution of water and financial resources would sow seeds of discord between Sindh and Punjab for centuries to come.