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HYDERABAD, March 17: District council members have called upon President Gen Pervez Musharraf to remove confusion about the Rs10.5 billion Hyderabad Development Package.
Speaking at an informal meeting of the council here on Wednesday, they criticized the statement of Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali, denying having announced the package, and urged the president to ensure release of the development funds.
The meeting also condemned the Sindh government's indifferent attitude regarding inordinate delay in release of lapsed funds of the district government. The meting was informed that the district Nazim had gone to Karachi to meet the Sindh governor after he was called by the Sindh government for discussing problems of the district government.
The meeting adopted a resolution, singed by 63 council members, condemning the denial of the package by the prime minister and describing his attitude with the district Nazim as disappointing.
The resolution tabled by Syed Ali Mohammad Shah said that the prime minister had ridiculed poor people by refusing to admit that there was any flour crisis. It demonstrated his unawareness about the flour crisis, it added.
The resolution condemned indifferent attitude of the Sindh government with the district council members given the fact that they had been deprived of financial powers.
The meeting vowed to back the district Nazim, resolving if he tendered his resignation, the council members would also resign and launch a protest movement.
Miran Mohammad Shah urged the Hyderabad MNAs to raise their voice in the on-going session of the National Assembly because their schemes were part of the HDP and that the prime minister was answerable to parliament.
Dr Ayaz Arain, Rana Mehmood Ali, Ramzan Arain, Khalil Memon, Saleem Khan, Sultan Khan, Hussain Bux Hussaini and Rasheed Qureshi also spoke on the occasion.
They pointed out that schemes of Rs3.7 million had not been completed in the district for past several months because non- availability of the funds. The members vowed to continue their struggle unless their problems were solved regarding the HDP and offered their full support to the district Nazim.
ADVISER: Meanwhile, adviser to Sindh chief minister on home affairs and member, working committee of Hyderabad Development Package, Aftab Sheikh, expressed his surprise over the statement of the prime minister that he had not announced any package for the district.
Talking to newsmen here on Wednesday, Mr Sheikh said he would talk to the prime minister over the issue. "I think there is some misunderstanding due to which the prime minister has given such a statement while talking to newsmen on Monday", he said.
Mr Shaikh recollected he and district Nazim Makhdoom Rafiquzzaman had been discussing the details of the package with the government officials since it was announced by the prime minister in September last in presence of senior government officials. The Sindh governor had even appointed the 11-member working committee headed by adviser on local bodies Waseem Akhtar to monitor the HDP.
