HYDERABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Sindh chapter president Nisar Khuhro has announced that PPP will hold province-wide protests on Aug 19 over Karachi’s issues and federal government’s intention to bring the mega city under its control.

In a statement emailed to Dawn, he said that during the protests PPP would raise other issues like unemployment and price-hike, besides federal government’s “attempt to occupy Karachi” and its intention to repeal or amend the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

He said that protests rallies and sit-ins would be held in all district headquarters under the leadership of respective senior partymen. He said that he would lead a protest in Karachi. He alleged that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government was casting an evil eye on revenues of Sindh’s capital, Karachi.

He described PTI and Prime Minister Imran Khan as “enemies of Sindh” and said the people of Sindh would foil any plan to occupy Karachi.

“Karachi is part of Sindh and PPP will not let any city of the province become a colony of any authority. He said that Imran Khan must note that people were in their slogans were declaring ‘traitors’ all those who wanted to occupy Karachi.

Mr Khuhro said that indications from federal government to take over administrative control of Karachi were in fact tantamount to breaking up Sindh. He said that any such interference by federal government in province would be considered unconstitutional and illegal. He said that people of Sindh would not tolerate anything against Sindh and would not care about their life if such an action was resorted to.

He said the PTI government was perhaps oblivious of Sindh’s ability to resist, adding that it would better shun such a plan.

“People of Sindh will resist any such attempt the way they had foiled the conspiracy to build Kalabagh dam,” he warned, and said that in fact PTI government wanted to slash the share of provinces in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award. It did not also like the 18th Amendment, he added.

The PPP leader observed that provinces’ share in the divisible pool was like a thorn in the eye of the federal government. He said PPP would not accept any deductions in the share of provinces nor would it allow rolling back of the 18th Amendment.

Mr Khuhro also expressed its concern over the situation where, according to him, people of Sindh were being neglected in federal jobs.

PM must quit, says Senator Chandio PPP information secretary Senator Maula Bux Chandio has described failure of the country’s foreign policy on Kashmir issue as failure of Imran Khan’s government.

“Mr Khan must admit his failures and go,” he said in a statement issued on Sunday. He said the government could not blame officers of the foreign ministry for its failure.

“The foreign minister thinks about himself as champion in all affairs and he should reply to it,” he said while claiming that federal ministers were admitting failure of Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

Senator Chandio said that Asad Umar was also a champion in the government but he also failed.

“Why should the foreign minister stick to his position after this,” he asked, and said the foreign minister, who considered himself ‘all-rounder’ failed to fulfill his responsibilities.

The senior PPP leader said that government blamed all crises including sugar, wheat flour, petrol and electricity on departments. He argued that if officers were running the country, why ministers were sitting in the government and what were they doing?

Mr Khan must accept that he was unable to grapple with crises being faced by the country, he said.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2020