HYDERABAD Sindh United Party has condemned the proposed privatisation of mineral resources of Sindh such as gas, oil, coal and other resources to extricate the country from the economic crisis.
 
Speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Saturday, the general secretary of the party, Syed Zain Shah, Dr Dodo Mehri, Naveed Ameen Khwaja, Ameer Ali Thebo and others said that when out of power, the Peoples Party always becomes the champion of Sindh's rights but when it is voted into power, it does not feel any qualms in taking anti-Sindh decisions.
 
Syed Zain Shah said that it was the PPP government which had allocated budget for the construction of Kalabagh Dam and agreed to distribute water according to the recommendations of the ministerial committee in 1994.
 
He said, it was also the PPP government which had allowed the construction of Chashma-Jehlum link canal and maintained a discrete silence on the construction of Greater Thal Canal. The PPP government has also forgotten everything about the announcement of a judicious NFC award and grant of provincial autonomy, Syed Zain Shah said.
 
The present PPP government is repeating its history as it has already handed over the coal reserves of Sindh to the federation and announced the privatisation of Qadirpur gas field, he said.
 
The SUP will strongly oppose the privatisation of Qadirpur gas field, Shah said and added that it will stage hunger strikes at all the district headquarters on October 8 and block the national highway in Ghotki by staging a sit-in on October 26.
 
We will launch a relentless struggle to save our mineral resources, Syed Zain Shah said. The 60 years history of the country is replete with administrative corruption and uncalled for expenses of the rulers due to which the country has suffered irreparable losses, he said and added that to meet the extravagant expenditures of the rulers, the natural resources of Sindh have been looted and plundered.
 
He pointed out that the Sindh's share of revenue in the federal pool was 70 per cent but it received only 23 per cent on the basis of population and added that even this 23 per cent was seldom given to Sindh. Resultantly, Sindh is in the grip of massive unemployment and lawlessness and the poor people were committing suicides, Syed Zain Shah said.
 
Referring to the mineral resources of the country, he said, there were 173 gas fields in whole of Pakistan out of which 140 were located in Sindh, 22 in Punjab, seven in Balochistan and four in Pakhtoonkhwa.
 
In this way, he said, Sindh's share in gas production was 56 per cent, in oil 71 per cent and if the Lakhra, Sondha, Badin and Thar coal deposits were put together, Sindh has 98 per cent of coal reserves.
 
He regretted that instead of using these resources, which providence had gifted to Sindh on the welfare of the people by setting up power houses and generating jobs for the people, these God gifted resources were being auctioned and added that the beginning was being made from Qadirpur gas field valued at billions of dollars.
 
He said, if Qadirpur gas field was privatised, thousands of workers and small growers will be displaced. It is an anti-Sindh step, Shah said and added that his party will perform its historic role by resisting any move to dispose of Sindh's resources.
 
He said, the ministers of Sindh were corrupt and referred to the Makli graveyard, which was being occupied by the father of a minister, who was instrumental in an attack on journalists while they were performing their professional duties.
 
Syed Zain Shah said, the state land was being grabbed everywhere by the land grabbers, who enjoyed the support of the high-ups and referred to Gadap, Nawabshah and vegetable market land in Hyderabad. He said, throughout the country, more cases of kidnappings had been reported in Sindh then in all the other three provinces put together.
 
Zain Shah called upon the Sindhi nation to unite on one platform to protect its mineral resources and to fight against social evils