ECP order ‘to freeze only Sindh’s development funds’ slammed

The elected leadership of the local government agencies from various cities and towns of Sindh belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to immediately withdraw its decision to freeze the development funds in the province before the upcoming general elections.

The elected leaders of the municipal agencies from various parts of Sindh held a meeting at a hotel in Karachi on Sunday. In their deliberations, the heads of the municipal bodies expressed the view that the order to freeze development funds was discriminatory on the part of the ECP because it had made no such decision in the case of the other provinces.

They were of the view that the ECP had shown much haste in halting the release of the development funds in Sindh because it was yet to announce the schedule for the general elections in the country.

They said that it was utterly unwise to give such an order to a province that had been gravely affected by heavy rains and floods last year.

The elected leadership of the PPP belonging to the towns of Karachi, Mirpurkhas, Khairpur, Shikarpur, Ghotki, Naushahro Feroze, Jacobabad, Shaheed Benazirabad, Kashmore, Badin, Dadu, Matiari, Jamshoro, Qambar Shahdadkot, Sanghar, Tando Allahyar, Tharparkar, Thatta and Sujawal attended the meeting. Karachi’s municipal leadership was represented in the meeting by the city’s Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad.

Briefing the media after the meeting, Sukkur City Mayor Barrister Arsalan Islam Sheikh said the meeting had decided to approach the ECP for the withdrawal of its order of freezing the development funds. He said the elected leaders of the municipal agencies would also contact the Sindh government for the release of the development funds.

“The ECP has come up with the stance that budget will only be released for necessary and important development works. Every development scheme in the province carries importance, given the widespread devastation caused by the floods last year.”

He said that the basic civic and drainage infrastructure in various parts of the province had been seriously damaged due to the floods last year. The damaged drainage system has to be repaired in the province to prevent any further devastation that can be caused by heavy rains in the future, he added.

He also said that such necessary repair works had to be carried out to save vulnerable areas from inundation due to heavy rains and floods in the future.

He made it clear that the ECP was not constitutionally bound to order the freezing of the development funds before the elections because the election commission could take a decision in this regard using its own discretion. He pointed out that no such order had been given by the ECP prior to the three last general elections.

Karachi’s deputy mayor said on the occasion that elected leaders of the local bodies were under pressure from their voters to resolve their basic civic issues after winning the LG polls. He said the elected leadership of the local bodies had to act fast to resolve the basic issues of the people.

Larkana District Chairman Ejaz Ahmed Laghari pointed out that development works had been continuing in Punjab while Sindh was being treated in a discriminatory manner.

He mentioned that the Annual Development Programme of the province had been duly passed by the provincial assembly because it had been conceived to facilitate the masses instead of furthering any political agenda.

Speaking on the occasion, chairmen of the municipal agencies of Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Jacobabad and other districts also urged the ECP to review its decision to halt the disbursal of funds for development schemes in the province.