'Sindh card' no more valid: CM

Published August 15, 2004

KARACHI, Aug 14: Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim has declared that no one would now be allowed to use 'Sindh card' because those who got themselves elected on this ground had failed to deliver.

He said that the PML had now come to power to serve the nation and mitigate the sufferings of Sindh people.

Dr Arbab was addressing the participants of 'Long Live Pakistan' rally, organized by the PML as part of the Independence Day celebrations here on Saturday at the PML House.

Claiming that Sindh, particularly Karachi, belonged to the PML, he said the Sindh card was no more valid, "what matters now is the PML Card".

He pledged that the party would usher in a revolution in the country under the leadership of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. "With the election of Shaukat Aziz as MNA from Thar in the Aug 18 by-election, citizens of Pakistan will have another joyous day," he said, adding: "We all would work jointly for the party and there would be meetings between the party leadership and workers with the aim of resolving the latter's problems on priority basis.

He impressed upon the participants, especially youth, to play their due role in promoting the Quaid-i-Azam's message of faith, unity and discipline.

Later, speaking at a rally of PML youth wing and Lawyers' Forum, Dr Arbab said that the PML after merger of all factions had emerged as a giant political party. The PML would lead the country to peace, progress and prosperity, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Revenue Minister Imtiaz Ahmad Shaikh lauded the enthusiasm displayed by the people of Karachi in celebrating the Independence Day and said that the peace all around proved that there was no more a law and order problem in the city.

He claimed that the government's appropriate policies had succeeded in restoring 'lights of the city'. He expressed his determination to make the city a cradle of love and fraternity once again by rooting out terrorism and creating employment opportunities for the jobless.

Mr Shaikh said that Karachi, a stronghold of the PML, appeared to be the backbone of the national economy. The city, he said, played a pivotal role in the country's economic development ever since the inception of Pakistan.

Later, leaders and workers of PML went to the Mazar of Quaid-i-Azam and offered Fateha.

Earlier, a large number of people gathered at the PML House. They marched through the street in convoy of hundreds ofvehicles and beautifully decorated floats displaying huge portraits of the Quaid-i-Azam.