BADIN: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that some unscrupulous elements were trying to give linguistic and ethnic colour to the murder of Irshad Ranjhani while as a matter of fact it was a murder of a human being and had been handled as per law of the land.

He said this on Wednesday just after inaugurating the Mir Ghulam Mohammad Talpur Degree College in Tando Bago town.

He said that he had nothing to do with the nationality with which Irshad Ranjhani belonged to and which language he spoke but the way he was killed in cold blood was a crime against humanity.

‘Nobody would be allowed to create hatred in society’

“I’ll not spare anybody who would take law into his own hand,” he said.

He felt that some unscrupulous elements were trying to give linguistic colour to the murder of Mr Ranjhani. He said the people living in Sindh irrespective of the language they spoke and the religion they practiced were Sindhis and they were his brothers; their life and property would be protected accordingly.

Probe into murder of three labourers in Larkana

Talking about the murder of three labourers in Larkana, Mr Shah said that it was an inhuman act and he had directed the police to unearth the culprits and register cases against them under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

“I would not allow them to destroy peace and tranquillity in the province,” he said and told the media that he had directed the commissioner and the DIG of Larkana to contact the heirs of the deceased and make necessary arrangements to shift their bodies to their respective villages.

Fake accounts case

Replying to a question, the chief minister said that when his name and that of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had appeared in the JIT report, the chief justice had questioned the FIA about veracity of the report.

The chief justice had directed the FIA to take out the name of the PPP chairman and the chief minister from the report but these directives were not translated into the judgement.

“We have challenged the JIT as it has become controversial and lost its credibility,” he said.

Shortage of funds

Responding to another question, the chief minister said that the federal government had failed to achieve its recovery targets.

As a result, the provincial government(s) was facing financial crisis but even then his government would meet its commitment of development. “I have brought my concerns in the knowledge of the federal government to improve the efficiency of the FBR, otherwise the size of divisible pool would narrow down further and cause massive damage to the development endeavour of the provinces,” he said.

He disclosed that 82 per cent of the provincial government budget was provided by the federal government from the divisible pool, straight transfers, etc. “If the federal government fails to achieve its revenue collection targets ultimately the provincial governments would suffer,” he said.

After cutting the inauguration ribbon, he spoke to the people gathered in Khan Bahadur Mir Ghulam Mohammad Khan Talpur Higher Secondary School to pay homage to late Talpur on his 87th death anniversary and celebrate centenary of the school built by Mir Sahib in 1919.

He said that the Sindh government was making all-out efforts to promote education by framing policies and plans.

He said that it was a matter of great honour for him to be the chief guest in a school.

He said Mir Ghulam Mohammad had devoted his whole life for the welfare and well-being of the people at a time when people were facing British rule in the subcontinent.

Without naming members of the Mirza family of the area, he said that when they [the Mirzas] were given powers, instead of strengthening the party in the district, they only “focused on their own personal interests”.

Mr Shah said that it was not possible for the Sindh government to reopen all 74,000 schools across the province, as several hundred schools were constructed on the recommendation of feudal lords and their henchmen to turn the buildings into autaqs and warehouses.

“By the end of next academic year all the schools will be made functional under a new formula,” he added.

PPP MNA Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur speaking on the occasion said that late Talpur was among those few people of the region, who had laid foundation of modern education by spending from his own pocket.

Mir Waqar Talpur, Karim Bux Panhwar and others also spoke during the event, which was arranged by Old Boys Association.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2019