HYDERABAD: Sindh Minister for Industries Manzoor Hussain Wassan has said that the upcoming general elections will be held in time, but there is also a possibility of this being a difficult feat to pull. He added that November and December will prove to be really ‘dangerous’ months. The minister expressed these remarks while performing groundbreaking of several development schemes, including construction of five roads, laying of water supply and drainage lines worth Rs124.19 million in SITE Hyderabad.
While addressing the media, Wassan said that "import and export" between political parties was a common practice. He said: “After the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto-led government, "people’s loyalties were purchased and changed" in order to expand Zia’s government. At that time, they made false cases against me and also tortured me in the jail, but they were not able to change my loyalty towards my party. Now this process has started again and the "import-export process" for 2018 general elections is in the full swing.”
He further went on to claim that the Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Muttahida Quami Movement-London (MQM-L) are still together and that they have only changed their names. He said that in the future, they will be controlled from Dubai. He said that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was not against the accountability of corrupt persons, but wanted impartial accountability for all.
Wassan said: “There are some forces which are even more powerful than the government. However, the country, at present, is moving towards the right direction and soon people would witness peace, justice and development.” He also said that the results of 2018 general elections will be unpredictable. In these elections, some people will get the power, while others will lose their thrones, he added.
Responding to a question regarding the demand for early elections from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, the minister said the PTI chief, who served as a fast bowler, always wanted to achieve all his goals in one go. He also said that the friends of PTI chief would also be brought under the net of accountability soon.
Wassan highlighted that it was crucial to develop infrastructure in areas where there were industries and industrial zones, adding that the establishment of more industries would help eliminate poverty and unemployment from the society. The minister said that as soon as he was given the portfolio of minister for industries, he started working on the schemes which are extremely significant for the economy. He added they were working on solving industrial issues of Hyderabad on priority basis and added that the ongoing development works in Hyderabad will be completed soon.
Replying to another question about the fixation of sugarcane prices, the minister said the sugarcane prices are linked with the international markets. He said if the production of sugarcane is good, then the prices will be stable. He added however, if the production is not satisfactory then the prices will show an upward trend. the government, he said was working to set prices for sugar mills to benefit the growers.