HYDERABAD: Qaumi Awami Tehreek president Ayaz Latif Palijo has accused Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of playing the provincial autonomy and Sindh ‘cards’ to hide its corruption, and warned that “Sindh is no more a playing card for anyone nor will the people of Sindh allow themselves to be misused”.

Mr Palijo was speaking at a convention of Sindhi Shagird Tehreek — QAT’s student wing — and the party’s Taleem Bachayo (save education) Conference at Sindh Museum here on Saturday.

Referring to PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s recent speeches and statements pleading the case of Sindh, Mr Palijo wondered that Mr Zardari had become a nationalist within a day.

He said that if the judiciary and (state) institutions thought that an accused was to be exonerated, then he should not be arrested in the first place.

PPP accused of using provincial autonomy and Sindh card to save its corruption

He said that if someone expressed an opinion about interests of Sindh, it should not be misconstrued because Pakistan also belonged to people of Sindh.

He observed that federal government had not shown any interest in the development of neglected areas of this province. Seventy per cent of schools in Sindh do not have facility of clean drinking water, electricity and boundary walls because of negligible budgetary allocation for education sector.

He said that in the last 70 years no policy for education was effectively pursued while this sector in Sindh was ruined because funds were stomached over the last 10 years.

Palijo said that while children of rulers did not study in government-run schools, workers and peasants would send their children to the public sector schools.

He said that parents should encourage their children to go for different fields.

He said that Pakistan remained aligned with Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iran for 70 years but it should also improve its ties with Malaysia, Indonesia and Turkey. He observed that it was corruption that had destroyed Sindh.

Some resolutions were also adopted at the convention. One of them called for establishment of libraries at council level and setting up of science, arts, medical, engineering and agriculture universities at division level.

Another one called for doing away with 80 per cent fees of universities and colleges. It demanded that teaching of Sindhi language at private schools be made compulsory and registration of those not following such rule be cancelled.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2019