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Thursday, October 3, 2024

No new provinces in Sindh: PM Imran Khan

Responding to Sindh Governor’s statement about carving up a new province in Sindh, PM Khan assured that no one can dare divide Sindh, and the federal government is undertaking measures to eliminate widespread poverty and provide economic relief to eliminate such demands.

News Desk |

On Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan debunked Sindh Governor’s statement of “forming a new province on administrative grounds” by illuminating that there is no need to create a new province in Sindh.

During his address to the leaders of the coalition that formed up the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) at the Governor House yesterday, Prime Minister Imran firmly stated, “Sindh is and will continue to remain intact.”

The meeting was attended by leaders of the Grand Democratic Alliance, including Nusrat Sehr Abbasi, Nand Kumar, Sadruddin Shah Rashidi, and Arbab Ghulam Rahim. Sindh Assembly’s opposition leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, Haleem Adil Sheikh, and Khurram Sher Zaman, alongside Faisal Vawda, also attended the gathering.

PM Imran Khan stated such a demand has stemmed from the deep-rooted poverty and destitution prevailing across urban areas and added that the local government system.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and its notorious leader, Altaf Hussein, was the first to raise the demands of creating a new province in Sindh, and recently, this demand was repeated by Sindh’s Governor, Imran Ismail.

Sindh Governor Invites Condemnation

In a statement that he hastily backtracked from hours later, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail stated that a new province should be formed in Sindh on administrative basis. This irresponsible statement garnered criticism from politicians, civil society members and people across Twitter, forcing Sindh Governor Ismail to backtrack and say that he did “not make the statement to create divisions in Sindh, or to form a new province.”

The leaders of the Grand Democratic Alliance brought up the statement to PM Khan’s attention. A delegation spearheaded by Sadaruddin Shah Rashdi urged that the federal government must clarify its positions on issues that are sensitive in provincial matters, and added that all political parties and officeholders are offended by the reckless statement made by Governor Sindh. ET cited Rashidi’s remarks, “People of Sindh can’t tolerate it”.

Read more: Over 57,000 absconding accused in Sindh, 22,000 in Karachi alone

Prime Minister Imran assured, “I know how it is a sensitive issue in Sindh. No one can dare divide Sindh. I assure you. The situation of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is totally different from Sindh where new provinces are being formed.”

Uplifting Poverty Across Sindh

PM Imran Khan stated such a demand has stemmed from the deep-rooted poverty and destitution prevailing across urban areas and added that the local government system, mimicked from the system implemented in KPK, will aid in empowering representatives elected by the people through local bodies.

He added that the local government system will prove instrumental in empowering citizens, and thereby, addressing the challenges faced by both, urban and rural regions, which will put an end to such demands across Sindh.

This is the second time that the CM was not invited to any programme; neither were we intimated about the PM’s schedule. The official letter regarding the PM’s arrival stated ‘the governor will receive the PM’.

The leaders of the coalition highlighted the challenges of initiating developmental schemes due to Pakistan People’s Party’s unwillingness to initiate such programs and requested the federal government to allocate funds so the development work could be initiated. PM Khan assured them that he would address these matters, and the federal government would assist in conjuring more schemes to uplift the rural regions across Sindh.

CM Muraad Ali Shah Continues his Antics

Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah was not present to receive Prime Minister Imran Khan during his entire provincial visit, for the second time. PM Khan was accompanied by Sindh Governor Ismail while CM Murad Ali Shah chose to remain absent all formal gatherings and events schedule during the premier’s visit.

Read more: PM Imran Khan-led Cabinet Approves Drought Relief Plan without Funding

ET cited sources in the Sindh government to reveal that CM Murad Ali Shah was not “intimated about the PM’s programme”, which prevented him from performing his delegated duties and lurk in his office. The Express Tribune’s report cited sources in the CM House that revealed, “This is the second time that the CM was not invited to any programme; neither were we intimated about the PM’s schedule. The official letter regarding the PM’s arrival stated ‘the governor will receive the PM’.”

Previously during PM Imran Khan’s maiden visits to Sindh after assuming the premier’s office, CM Murad Ali Shah upheld the practice of receiving him. However, given the recent scuffle between the federal and PPP-led provincial government over the corruption cases piled against PPP leadership, it appears that social and political norms no longer hold value.

Read more: Karachi is demolishing unlawful yet poor’s only roof

ET’s source reported, “This all has happened in the wake of tensions between the federal and provincial governments over various issues, especially the graft cases against the PPP leadership”.