Sindh’s chief minister has said that his provincial government is willing to establish a cordial working relationship with the federal administration, but “the Centre would have to take care of the rights of Sindh”.
Syed Murad Ali Shah made the statement on Monday while talking to the media together with Sindh Governor Imran Ismail at the shrine of Sufi saint Abdullah Shah Ghazi.
Shah said he and the governor visited the shrine to pray for the prosperity of Sindh and its people, adding that his administration has no problem in working with the federal government. “Some problems might emerge in our approach towards some issues, but they would be resolved through the guidelines of the constitution.”
He said that on the day of his re-election as the province’s chief executive, he had expressed his desire to work amicably with the federal government so that all the outstanding issues between the Centre and the province could be resolved.
Responding to a question regarding inter-provincial transfers made by the federal administration, he said there was an old law of the 1950s that was amended in 1993, under which inter-provincial transfer and postings are required to be made through a consultative process.
“This time we have not been consulted while transferring our officers to other provinces and to the Centre, so we have taken up this issue with the federal government and it would be resolved amicably.”
Replying to a query about a large number of vehicles owned by the CM House, Shah said they are not used by him. “I just use one vehicle, and the rest of them are given to the prime minister, CMs, Senate chairman, National Assembly speaker and judges whenever they visit Sindh.”
Answering a question regarding alleged blackmailing of a student by a teacher of the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University Nawabshah, the CM said he is taking the issue seriously.
“I have already obtained a report from the Nawabshah commissioner, and now I have given this inquiry to the university & boards secretary. Let the report be released. I’ll take strict action if something is found to be wrong.”
Governor to soon meet PM
Sindh Governor Imran Ismail has said he along with Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah will soon meet Prime Minister Imran Khan to discuss the mega development projects to be carried out in the province.
He stated this on Monday as he along with the chief minister visited the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Clifton on the last day of the annual Urs of the Sufi saint. Both the dignitaries on the occasion prayed for the peace, prosperity and development of the country.
The governor said that he and the CM had set a healthy precedent in the province by visiting the shrine of the Sufi saint together and this showed that both of them were fully committed to working together zealously for resolving the problems of the people and providing them due facilities.
“Everybody carries his own vision but the ultimate goal is to ensure the welfare of the country and the nation,” said the governor. He said that the new federal government was fully committed to taking along with it all the provinces, and the desirable results would be obtained by doing work shoulder to shoulder with the federating units.
He said the federal government had the complete resolve that there should be uniform development in every part of the country as under the same vision the federation would provide complete support for the development and prosperity of the Sindh province.
Responding to a question, Ismail said he was not residing at the Governor House while the officials concerned there had been directed to take steps to maximally reduce the lavish expenditures of the Governor House/Secretariat so as to lessen the burden on the public exchequer.
Regarding the recent tragedy of electrocution in which two minor boys lost their arms in Karachi, the governor said that such accidents did take place around the world, and it would be very difficult to completely prevent similar tragedies, but necessary precautionary measures should be taken to prevent such tragedies in future.
He said the privatised K-Electric had earned billions of rupees from Karachi and it was under a strict obligation to adopt a mechanism to prevent such tragedies in future. If in case such a tragedy occurred in future, then the K-Electric should take full responsibility of it.
Talking to newsmen on the occasion, Chief Minister Shah said the Sindh government was desirous to jointly work with the federal government as cooperation in this regard was very important for the welfare of the people of the province. He said every contentious issue should be resolved through talks.