THATTA, April 7: Pakistan People’s Party’s provincial president Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Thatta party MPAs, former legislators and other public leaders have opposed the proposed bifurcation of the district.

They alleged that the ruling coalition was hatching a conspiracy to convert Sindhi parliamentarians into minority and to grab the slot of chief minister.

Qaim Ali Shah, MPAs Sassui Palijo, Humera Alwani, former MNAs Babu Ghulam Hussain, Haji Usman Jalbani, former MPAs Dr Wahid Soomro, Ghulam Qadir Palijo and others were talking to reporters at the residence of party leader Jalil Memon here on Thursday evening.

The leaders said that a new district, comprising coastal talukas of Kharochhan, Keti Bunder, Ghorabari and Mirpur Sakhro of Thatta district and some areas of former Malir district of Karachi was being formed. Bhambhore or Bin Qasim were under consideration for the new district, they said.

They claimed that about 2,500 acres of fertile land was being allotted to favourite outsiders in Thatta district on the pretext of installation of windmills, besides a 7,000-acre plot of taluka Mirpur Sakhro is under process of allotment to a Karachi-based industrialist.

Revenue officials in Thatta, under special directives, have established a special cell at Mukhtiarkar office Mirpur Sakhro to confidentially earmark the land to accommodate the ruling coalition favourites.

This has given a sudden boost to the investment climate in the district and the per acre price of an ordinary piece of land has increased from Rs500,000 to Rs1.5 million. They said the PPP would launch a province-wide protests if such a proposal was implemented.