Karachi’s destroyers still Centre’s coalition partner, says Sindh govt

Sindh’s information minister said on Tuesday that the political forces that have played a role in the destruction of Karachi are still a part of the present federal government’s coalition.

Speaking at a Meet-the-Press programme of the Karachi Press Club, Saeed Ghani said that the history of the metropolis was not unknown to anyone, adding that innocent people used to be killed all across the city.

Ghani said the provincial government will be spending more than Rs300 billion on the development of the city and for the purpose of resolving its myriad issues.

He said that if Prime Minister Imran Khan does not meet the province’s chief executive during his visits to the metropolis, then the Government of Sindh is not responsible for such a situation.

The information minister said that it is unfortunate that no meeting is taking place between the premier and the chief minister despite the fact that both the men hold coveted constitutional positions, and both of them have to carry out duties defined in the Constitution.

He said that such a situation should not exist even “if we don’t like each other’s faces”. The CM should be duly informed about the schedule of the PM’s visit to Karachi, especially for the purpose of resolving the problems of the city, he added.

He added that the premier had been avoiding a meeting with the provincial chief executive owing to the alleged ill-performance of the federal government and its injustices with Sindh’s administration.

Hydropower scheme

Ghani also said that the provincial government has serious reservations over the plan to construct a hydroelectricity project on the Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal in the upcountry.

He said that the middle class and the impoverished sections of society have been suffering much due to the ill-conceived policies of the present federal government.

He added that all the sections of society have been facing difficulties due to the poor state of the economy in the country. He condemned the “undeclared ban” being faced by the media, saying that the restrictions being imposed by the federal government on the media should be immediately withdrawn.

The information minister said the National Institute of Health Islamabad is responsible for producing rabies vaccines in the country, adding that Sindh has been facing its shortage considering the increasing number of dog-bite cases across the province.