HYDERABAD: Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) secretary general Ayaz Latif Palijo has tendered his resignation over the alliance’s inaction on what he described as core issues concerning Sindh.

After remaining GDA’s secretary general for around six years, Palijo submitted his resignation to GDA leader Pir Pagara in an alliance meeting held in Karachi. He, however, held out an assurance in his written resignation that he would be in the forefront of the struggle launched by the GDA for the rights of the province.

Mr Palijo told Dawn that the GDA did not take stance over issues of Sindh and there was no headway on the 15-points charter submitted to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government in Dec 2019. He added that he had submitted the charter to former prime minister Imran Khan and then in another meeting at Kingri House, he also talked to the ex-premier over it, but in vain.

He said the then federal government did not respond over any issue of Sindh. He said that no follow-up was seen over the charter. He said the GDA did not take up the issue of the islands of Sindh with the federal government.

He said concerns were also shown over issuance of national identity cards (NIC) to illegal immigrants, primarily to Afghans, but the GDA again failed to pursue the issue.

He said most jobs in Karachi were given to Afghans and residents of Sindh were ignored. Likewise, he said, the federal government of which the GDA was part, did not talk to the Sindh government when the Bahria Town administration bulldozed villages.

“I have mentioned in the resignation that the GDA should not be active only in time of elections and it should keep raising voice for Sindh’s issues of life and death,” he said.

Meanwhile, GDA leaders visited the office of the Election Commission in Karachi to inquire under which law the commission was going to hold the local government election.

GDA leader Sardar Rahim told reporter after a meeting with the provincial election commissioner that Pir Pagara had directed at the alliance’s core committee meeting that political field should not be left wide open.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2022