KARACHI: Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday said that Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had assured him that all concerns expressed by the Sindh government over certain provisions of the National Finance Pact (NFP) would be addressed.

Speaking to the media at the Karachi Press Club, he, however, said that the Sindh government had agreed to the National Fiscal Pact in order to fulfil a key condition set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for finalising the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility for Pakistan.

When asked whether his reservations pertained to the proposed abolition of agriculture support prices and equal agriculture income tax in the four provinces under the NFP, the chief minister said that the provincial government had forwarded its reservations on certain conditions of the pact in writing to the federal government.

“If you don’t take care of food security in the country, you know what will happen,” he said, without elaborating further.

CM claims finance minister assured him of addressing province’s concerns over the document

Responding to another question, he said that the NFP would “not have any adverse effect” on the distribution of resources among provinces under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award.

“The distribution of funds among the provinces under NFC could increase instead of being decreased,” he added.

Talking about the electricity crisis in the city, he asked the media to raise the issue that the provincial government, representing the people of Karachi, should be included in the K-Electric board.

He said that the establishment of the constitutional court was a part of the 2024 manifesto of the PPP.

“The judicial reforms that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is talking about at this time are part of Shaheed Bibi’s vision,” he said.

The chief minister recalled that Benazir Bhutto had talked about constitutional reforms in 2006.

Referring to the opposition to the establishment of constitutional court, he asked if anyone had raised any objection to this a year ago.

He claimed that the economy of the country was played with during the tenure of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government and it took two years for the country to “recover” from the “damage” the previous government had caused to the economy.

Replying to a question, the chief minister said that it was good that the governor was active.

He said that the provincial police had investigated the murder case of Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar and told the victim’s heirs that if they did not file an FIR, the state would do so itself.

The chief minister said that the provincial police chief had been asked to conduct the psychological examination of the officials posted at sensitive places.

He assured all those who were present there that the government would conduct a complete inquiry into the case. “It is the job of the courts to punish the culprits,” he added.

Responding to another question, he said that Sindh would remain united till doomsday.

During his visit to the KPC, he also met the KPC body and assured them that the problems of club members would be solved.

Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani, Energy Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Senator Waqar Mehdi, Information Secretary Nadeem Memon, and others were also present on the occasion.

KPC president Saeed Sarbazi, secretary Shoaib Ahmed and members of the governing body welcomed the chief minister on his arrival at the club.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2024