LARKANA: Chief Minis­ter Syed Murad Ali Shah has that recruitments from grade-I to IV in provincial departments would be started soon now when the litigation over the issue had come to an end.

He was speaking to the media on Monday at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto, where he reviewed the arrangements being made for the mammoth event to be held on Dec 27 on the 17th death anniversary of slain prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

The CM said that the recruitment process had been initiated by the Pakistan Peoples Party government long ago but the matter was challenged in court and subsequently the process was suspended under a verdict. But now, he added, court had allowed resumption of the process and, therefore, jobs in these grades would be offered soon.

CM Shah was accompanying Sindh Energy Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, PPP Larkana district president MNA Khursheed Junejo and Jamil Soomro, the political secretary to party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

Canals project

In reply to a question regarding the federal government’s plan to draw six canals from the Indus River, the chief minister argued that how could new canals be operated when [required quantum of] water was not available in the system.

He said the Constitution on was clear on such issues as it advised any province having objection over the Indus water issue, it could approach the Council of Common Interests (CCI) to seek remedy.

The CM said if any such project would be executed, Sindh would sure take it up in the CCI. “We had objected to the Kalabagh dam project in the past and would raise objection over these canals as well,” he said.

“We have to first understand the methods of saving water; PPP had worked a lot regarding the lining [of watercourses],” he said citing vision of President Asif Ali Zardari who had floated the idea to meet the future water requirements.

Answering another question, about Karachi’s water issue, CM Shah said water was available for half of Karachi’s requirement. He said that an issue had cropped up during the repair work of Dhabeji pipeline.

The federal government was now working on one component and the provincial government on three components of the K-IV project, he added. Also, a canal was being dug to bring in 1,000mgd (million gallons per day) from Hub Dam, he said. and pointed out that the Sindh government alone was doing this without seeking any outside help.

The project was kicked off in August and would be completed by June next year, he said.

Law and order

To a question about the law and order situation in parts of the province, the chief minister said it was better when compared with that in the past. He acknowledged that Kashmor-Kandhkot, Shikarpur and Ghotki were problematic districts but an improvement was being witnessed there. “In 2007, we had to travel in convoys [to escape outlaws’ attacks) between Sukkur and Lakhi to reach Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto, but now the journey is safe,” he noted.

Earlier, CM Shah visited Bhuttos’ Mausoleum, offered fateha and laid floral wreaths on the graves of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and their other deceased family members.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2024