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Friday March 29, 2024

Running govt: Murad says PTI to learn it’s easier said than done

By Azeem Samar
September 19, 2018

KARACHI: Sindh’s chief executive said on Tuesday that PTI is going to realize it was easier said than done when it comes to governance, advising the prime minister and the PTI to come of the “jalsa” (rallies) mode.

Responding to a query during his post-budget news conference, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said Prime Minister Imran Khan’s announcement about granting Pakistani nationality to Afghans and Bengalis living in Karachi cannot be implemented if it does not conform to the Pakistan Citizenship Act of 1951. “Foreigners who came to our country illegally cannot be granted Pakistani nationality because once an unlawful decision is made to this effect, it would open the floodgates to illegal migration into the country,” he said

“I am very much clear about this issue. If the announcement is unlawful, it cannot be implemented because only lawful decisions about granting Pakistani citizenship can be implemented.”

CM Shah said that any announcement about granting citizenship to foreigners should be made in accordance with the relevant laws, adding that if the announcement does not conform to the laws, then the federal government would need to amend them through Parliament to implement the decision. In case the act is unlawful, said the chief executive, lawmakers of the concerned political parties in Parliament, including his Pakistan Peoples Party, would definitely register their protest to resist the move. Shah also denied that the PM had asked the Sindh government during his visit to Karachi on Sunday to lift the city’s garbage within two months.

“If the premier had asked the governor to take such an action before making the announcement at a public gathering, the governor cannot be assumed to be a substitute of the provincial government. At the same time, the governor himself should not transgress his lawful and constitutional authority.” The CM said decisions about granting citizenship and lifting garbage should not be announced at public meetings. “It is my request to the present federal government to switch from its jalsa mode to the desired government mode.” He said decisions of the present federal administration, including the auction of luxurious motor vehicles, cannot create lasting effects on issues related to governance and running the affairs of the country.

“The impact of such decisions cannot go beyond a few months, whereas the issues of governance are much more complex, where more stringent decisions have to be taken, such as the one taken about increase in gas price.”

He said the auction of luxurious vehicles took place at the PM House the other day and now everybody has come to see how many of these expensive or armoured vehicles can be sold to the public.

“If such expensive vehicles can be auctioned off, anybody can come forward and sell two of my armoured vehicles to fetch me their due market price.” He joked that now even the buffaloes of the PM House are being sold off, but people on social media have started advising the rulers that instead of selling these buffaloes, their milk should be sold for far greater profit. “Selling all the buffaloes can attract a NAB investigation on account of causing losses to the national exchequer.”

The CM denied the impression that his administration is not in the mood to adopt the austerity drive as being observed by the federal government and is not willing to auction off its fleet of surplus luxurious vehicles.

He said his government would certainly sell off luxurious vehicles that are over a decade old because their repair and maintenance costs a lot of money.

The chief executive said that under the austerity measures of his government, there would be a complete ban on the purchase of new vehicles, except those required for emergency and mandatory services such as police vehicles and ambulances.

Budget cut

Shah said his provincial administration had to reduce Rs24 billion out of the Rs50 billion it had earlier reserved for new development schemes under its Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the current financial year.

He said the decision of budget cut was made because of a shortage of the required funds from the federal government, adding that his administration had received Rs49 billion less on account of federal transfer of funds until June this year.

The CM said the size of the district ADP had been increased from Rs30 billion to Rs35 billion in order to enable the elected local government representatives to implement development schemes at grassroots level.

He said Rs18 billion has been reserved for new development projects in the ongoing financial year, adding that these include upgrading of taluka hospitals in Umerkot, Mithi and Kandhkot.

Shah said that some 31 new trauma centres would be established in the current financial year in different parts of the province, adding that under new development schemes, an 87km coastal highway would be constructed to benefit Sindh’s coastal towns whose lands have been eroded due to sea intrusion.

He admitted that his government had much to do to improve the public education sector in the province because several schemes are being completed at present to provide all the missing facilities at some 4,650 schools that carry the burden of 80 per cent enrolment of students in state-run schools.

He said that public schools across the province are being upgraded with the aim to enrol 550,000 more children in the province to educate them.