MIRPURKHAS: Leader of the Opposition in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh has asked Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to tender resignation over unabated increase in stray dogs and lack of anti-rabies vaccine in his constituency.

He said at a press conference at the residence of a local Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader late on Tuesday night that stray dogs had almost become a part of identity of Sindh because corrupt bureaucracy in connivance with political personalities often swallowed up the budget allocated for control of stray dogs’ population and purchase of dog-bite vaccines. No vaccine would work unless the corrupt bureaucracy and ministers were administered anti-graft vaccines, he warned in a lighter vein.

He regretted that harvesting of wheat crop was in full swing across the province but food department had not yet opened procurement centres to buy the grain from growers.

Though the government had fixed wheat support price at Rs2,000 per 40 kilogramme, it had not yet issued gunny bags to farmers, allowing hoarders enough time and opportunity to buy up wheat at low rate from heavily indebted growers, particularly in Mirpurkhas division, he said.

It was a sure recipe for creating flour crisis in coming days as the government would then purchase wheat from the same hoarders and favourite feudal lords to allow them to make windfall profits, he said.

He said that drugs were being openly sold in the province while dog-bite cases were being routinely reported in Mirpurkhas district but journalists were being asked not to point them out.

He deplored that drugs valued at billions of rupees had been recovered from residence of a police officer in Mirpurkhas where gutka, mainpuri and other narcotics were being openly sold without any fear of law.

Sheikh said that when a female SHO in Umerkot seized drugs she was suspended but if she had helped in the sale of the narcotics or kept her eyes shut then she would certainly have been appointed as SSP.

He said that he had been raising problems of Sindh’s masses and would not leave them in the lurch. Even sweepers’ jobs had been given to sons of favourite feudal lords in Sindh, he claimed.

He said that growers had become disappointed over the provincial government‘s wrong agriculture policy which had only contributed to the destruction of farm sector owing to massive corruption. Most contracts for government schemes and projects were being given to one blue-eyed contractor, he alleged.

He said that Sindh government targeted the opposition leader and the journalists who dared speak truth and asked Bilawal to withdraw his statement against the prime minister.

The opposition had split into two and Pakistan Democratic Movement leaders would soon be seen tearing at one another’s clothes, he said.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2021