SUKKUR, June 5: People’s Party Parliamentarians MNA Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah has said his party has reservations over division of districts because it will not only create hatred among people but also increase government expenses. He was speaking at a press conference at the press club here on Sunday. Party MPAs Dr Nasrullah Baloch and Jawed Ali Shah were also present on the occasion.

Mr Shah observed that if the districts were divided on geographic and population basis then no one would object to it but the government’s move to create new districts was politically motivated.

However, he maintained, the division of districts would not affect the PPP because it was the biggest political party of the country and enjoyed support of more than 70 per cent people of Sindh.

Referring to a recent meeting of two Sardars with President Gen Pervez Musharraf, he opposed the proposal to bifurcate Ghotki into two districts. He said the two Sardars of Ghotki were at odds over the seat of the district nazim and the president, instead of resolving the issue politically, had proposed bifurcation the district so that both the Sardars could be accommodated as nazims.

The PPP leader claimed that there was not a single district in Punjab having population less than 1.7 million but the Punjab government was not dividing the districts. But, he regretted, districts in Sindh having population 600,000 were being divided.

He demanded cancellation of the decision to divide districts.

He maintained that the division of districts would affect Sindh’s economy and increase expenses of the province by 70 per cent. He said the amount could be spent on establishment of schools, hospitals and providing other facilities to people.

Mr Shah claimed that Sindh had suffered huge losses due to division of Larkana, Jacobabad and Hyderabad districts.

About the NFC award, he alleged that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was not sincere on the issue and advised the small provinces to receive the award under protest because, according to him, they would suffer a loss of Rs6 billion per month due to the current NFC formula.

Replying to a question, he said a strategy was being prepared to defeat the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in Karachi and Hyderabad in the ensuing local bodies’ elections.