18th Amendment effectively nullified, says Zain Shah

HYDERABAD: The 18th Amendment, Council of Common Interests (CCI) and provincial autonomy have been effectively nullified in the country..

Syed Zain Shah, the convener of the Save Indus River Movement Committee and head of the Sindh United Party (SUP), said this during a press conference at the Hyderabad Press Club on Wednesday.

He said the Indus River had been sold out, and with the formation of the SIFC, provincial lands were being taken over and handed over to feudal lords of the new era. “The SIFC is not acceptable in Punjab, Sindh or any part of the country, and therefore we reject it,” he said.

Shah stated that the National Assembly has also lost effectiveness as the speaker had rejected a resolution tabled by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on the canals issue. Speaker Ayaz Sadiq acted in enmity toward the nation, the SUP chief said, adding that if the public issues continued to be trampled like that, people of Sindh might choose another path like that of people of Balochistan.

He said the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was the ruling party in Sindh, and the ruling party in the Centre, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, was its ally. He added that the PPP has turned Sindh into Karbala.

He recalled that in the past too, agreements were signed that caused water shortage in Sindh. “Our peaceful struggle against corporate farming will continue,” he stated. Shah said Asif Ali Zardari as the president of Pakistan did not have the authority to approve any project, but he overstepped his powers and approved one, for which he should be held accountable.

He announced on the occasion that on April 19, the Save Indus River Movement Committee would hold a gathering in Hyderabad against the canals project. He said he would not remain silent until the SIFC and canal projects were scrapped, and added that the Sindh government had allocated 200,000 acres of land under the SIFC, which included land in Mirpurkhas, Badin, Thatta and Karachi.