LARKANA, May 9: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif welcomed on Wednesday the merger of Sindh National Front into his Pakistan Muslim League-N.

He was addressing an SNF workers’ convention in Ratodero where the SNF chief Mumtaz Ali Bhutto announced that its central committee had decided to merge the organisation into the PML-N because Mr Sharif had spoken in support of provincial autonomy during his visits to Skardu and Balochistan.The statement of Mr Bhutto endorsing Mr Sharif’s support for provincial autonomy was significant because for the past few decades he had been calling for turning Pakistan from a federation into a confederation.

The PML-N chief vowed to remove disparities among provinces and eradicate violence and ‘patharedari’ (harbouring of criminals) from Sindh.

He said there was no peace in Karachi, nor in Balochistan or Baltistan and the government had failed even to keep Lyari under control.

Mr Sharif said the convicted prime minister was committing further contempt of court by sticking to his post. He blamed President Asif Zardari for the situation and said the main problem was the ‘plundered’ Rs6 billion stashed in Swiss banks.

“I, the Supreme Court and the nation say with one voice that the money should be brought back and we will not sit idle till it is done.”

He said people had voted for the late Benazir Bhutto and he had signed the Charter of Democracy with her. But Mr Zardari, he added, was deviating from the charter.

“We had agreed in the CoD to respect each other’s mandate but now things have changed.” He said he was still committed to the charter but President Zardari was deceiving the nation.

He criticised the government’s failure to arrest the assassins of Ms Bhutto and alleged that the suspects were now around President Zardari. When the time came, he said, the PML-N would do everything possible to arrest the killers.

He said giving Rs20,000 in compensation for the flood-affected families in Sindh was inadequate, adding that it should be at least Rs100,000. “When you can spend Rs9 billion on your publicity why not spend that amount for the poor?”

The PML-N chief said he wanted to make Pakistan an ‘Asian tiger’ and wished to see equal development in Punjab and Sindh. “I want to see laptops in the hands of students in place of Kalashnikovs.”

He promised to spread a network of roads, universities and hospitals in Sindh.

“If you don’t serve the nation, you should leave the government,” he said.

He said Mumtaz Bhutto’s decision to merge his party with the PML-N had made it a historic day and “we have joined hands to serve Sindh and Pakistan”.

He termed Mumtaz Bhutto a man of principles and said the views of the PML-N and SNF regarding provincial autonomy were identical. “We will move ahead under your leadership.”

Mumtaz Bhutto said nationalists in Sindh were those who were talking of Sindhu Desh.

Earlier, the PML-N chief laid floral wreaths on the grave of Basheer Khan Qureshi, chairman of the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz, and went to his house to offer condolences to his brother Maqsood Qureshi and his family.