LARKANA, Jan 22: Sindh National Front (SNF) chief Mumtaz Ali Bhutto has strongly criticised the sale of Sindh’s two islands reportedly by a minister of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and said it will render thousands of fishermen jobless and shelterless.

Talking to journalists at his residence on Monday, he dismissed reports that a UAE-based company would invest $42 billion in the islands’ development and claimed the company had been ousted from Saudi Arabia and had inquiries pending against it in Dubai.

In an apparent reference to chief minister’s statements that the ‘Ketties’ were bandits’ sanctuaries he said that the bandits had hideouts in the government forests but the authorities concerned had so far failed to crack down on them due to unknown reasons.

He said that he had complained to Sindh chief minister during his visit to Mirpur Bhutto in December 2006 about the problem and also wrote him letters in August, October and very lately in January urging him to take action against the bandits but in vain.

He said that the bandits had established contacts with law enforcing agencies over mobile phones and the chief minister could not absolve himself of the responsibility under different excuses.

He said that the entire province right from Kashmore to Karachi was facing the worst state of law and order with murders, robberies, car and mobile snatching becoming order of the day.