DADU: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government had pursued a wrong foreign policy which led to strained relations with most countries, including the United States and China.

Speaking to participants of an Eid Milan party and local reporters at his residence in Wahur village near Bhan Syedabad town of Sehwan taluka on Friday, he said now when a good government was in place at the Centre and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had become foreign minister, Pakistan’s relations with the world community would definitely improve.

Claiming that PTI’s foreign policy had resulted in strained ties even with China and several gulf states, he said China had slowed down work on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects because the PTI government had not been paying due attention to them. He said CPEC projects had been progressing at a high speed when Asif Ali Zardari was head of the state. He expressed his confidence that the same pace would be maintained now as Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari would pay due attention to these projects.

Mr Shah said that after accusing the United States of conspiring to topple his government, former prime minister Imran Khan finally got Pakistan isolated in the world community. “Our foreign minister will repair the relations with his wisdom and political acumen,” he said.

Claims Pakistan was isolated in world due to PTI’s flawed foreign policy

Commenting on the conspiracy theory, he argued that only in February this year, then foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had met the US ambassador but why he did not take up this issue with him.

The chief minister claimed that the PTI government neither worked for people’s welfare nor did it let Sindh government to work. “I myself had conveyed this to Imran Khan and had reminded him that much of his government’s tenure had passed off and little time was left to show performance to the masses,” he added.

He expressed his satisfaction over ouster of the PTI government and held out the assurance that the incumbent dispensation would come up to the expectations of the nation.

CM Shah, in reply to a question, said that local government elections had to be delayed in order to make some amendments to the LG law as proposed by other stakeholders. He said the elections had now been scheduled and would be held as per the plan. He rejected the objection from certain quarters that the period chosen for the LG elections would be too hot, saying: “We are Jiyalas … we don’t care about weather conditions, be it too hot or too cold”.

About moves to set up a commission to investigate the so-called “lettergate”, Mr Shah described the letter and PTI’s conspiracy theory as “mere propaganda”. He said things would settle down soon. He hoped that the incumbent dispensation would be able to deliver and come up to the expectations of the masses. He said policies were being redesigned and this would usher in a new chapter of speedy development in the country and bring prosperity to the nation.

Water crisis

Answering to a question about an acute shortage of drinking and irrigation water in Sindh, CM Murad Ali Shah said that he had held meetings with the public health engineering secretary and asked him to identify the worst-hit areas. He said the secretary had already been told to ensure adequate supply of drinking water to people of Sehwan and Bhan Syedabad areas. He hoped that the situation in Sindh would normalise within the next six months. He said availability of clean drinking water to people was the top priority of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

Fire tragedy

In reply to a question about the recent fire tragedy in Faiz Mohammad Daryani Chandio village that had left 10 children dead and caused heavy losses to over 50 families, Mr Shah said that all cabinet members and district administrations had been directed to ensure that no such incident recurred. He said they had been asked to take immediate measures for keeping fire tenders and other machinery in perfect order and staff available to meet any emergency anywhere.

MNAs Sikandar Rahpoto and Rafiq Jamali; PPP Jamshoro district president Syed Asif Ali Shah, Jamshoro DC Fariduddin Mustafa, Dadu DC Syed Murtaza Ali Shah, Hyderabad DIG Syed Pir Mohammad Shah, Jamshoro SSP Javed Baloch and Dadu SSP Irfan Ali Samoo were among those who attended the Eid Milan party.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2022