HYDERABAD, May 25: Sindh minister for population welfare Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh has urged federal government to resolve contentious issues like water distribution among provinces, the NFC Award and Thal canal project by way of negotiations between the governments of Punjab and Sindh and other concerned parties .

Speaking at a news conference at Circuit House here on Sunday, he said that the issues should also be tackled by the Council of Common Interests.

Mr Sheikh said that after the Sindh Assembly’s unanimous resolutions on the National Finance Commission award and the Thal canal project, it was up to the federal government to look into the matters and pay heed to the voice of the provincial assembly.

He said that both the issues must be raised at all the forums and be handled in the light of the principle of give and take.

The Sindh Democratic Alliance chief said that the Sindh cabinet supported distribution of water among provinces in accordance with 1991 Water Accord and his party also backed the stand.

Referring to the national scenario, he said that an honourable exit should be provided to the army as the transition period was about to end after restoration of democracy.

He said that parliament was the supreme institution of the country and it would remain so.

He urged that the deadlock on the Legal Framework Order could prove to be harmful for the country.

He expressed the hope that no new taxes would be imposed in the budget but added in the same breath that if need arose, minimum taxes would be levied in order to avoid extra financial burden on the people.

Referring to population welfare, the Sindh minister said that his department was planning to establish a population welfare centre for each two union councils in Sindh and a mobile service unit would be deployed in every taluka to check increasing population and ensure close interaction with the people.

He said that NGOs, representatives of union councils, MPAs and MNAs would also be asked to participate in the process to inculcate awareness about the population explosion among the people.

Stressing the need for controlling population, he said that the government wanted to achieve a growth rate target of 1.9 per cent, which was currently 2.2 per cent.

About recruitment in government departments, he claimed that it would strictly be on merit basis.