THE people of Sindh were in shock to hear President Asif Ali Zardari’s remarks while speaking at the 5th Safma conference in Islamabad.

He complained that nationalists were not ready to talk to the government on the new LG system in Sindh as they were getting money from Punjab.

The president also claimed that the controversial Zulfikarabad project is in favour of Sindh but the nationalists are not in favour of any development.

I would like to mention that the ruling party has claimed that the nationalists have no backing in Sindh as they could not win even a single seat in elections.

I am unable to understand why the president is so worried about their protests. His claim that Punjab is financing such a protest movement in Sindh is non-serious and unacceptable.

Meanwhile, the chief of the Pakistan Muslim League (F) and spiritual leader of Hurs, Pir Pagara VIII, is also an opponent of the new LG system, so much so, according to press reports, he did not accept the president’s request to meet him. Will the president clarify whether Pir Pagara in opposing the new LG system is also allegedly receiving funding from Punjab?

For the information of the president, the people of Sindh as a whole oppose this system, but the government is unsuccessfully trying to restrict protests to nationalists as part of its efforts to reduce its gravity.

Regarding the controversial project of Zulfikarabad in Sindh, the president’s claim was not right as calling ‘opponents of the project as opponent of development of Sindh’ was unacceptable for the simple reason that Zulfikarabad, the mega city project, is bound to bring demographic changes in Sindh and would increase fear in Sindh about converting Sindhis into a minority.

MOHAMMAD KHAN SIAL Karachi