KARACHI: Expressing his displeasure over the continued delay in the finalisation of the new National Finance Commission (NFC) Award by Islamabad, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said on Sunday that the award should have been announced jn time as was enshrined in the Constitution.

“It is required in the Constitution that the award be announced in time,” said Mr Shah after visiting the graves of former prime ministers Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto at a cemetery at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.

He also offered fateha on the graves of Ms Bhutto’s mother, Begum Nusrat and brothers Murtaza and Shahnawaz. The new Sindh cabinet, including advisers and special assistants, also accompanied the CM. He and his cabinet members laid wreaths on the Bhuttos’ graves.

Party officials said that the purpose of the visit was to pay respect to their political leaders who sacrificed their lives for democratic rule in the country.

Talking to reporters, Mr Shah termed the centre’s delay in announcing the NFC award an injustice with the smaller provinces and said that from now on it would be among his key challenges to get the federal government announce the award.

He said the previous federal government run by the Pakistan Peoples Party had duly fulfilled its responsibility and announced the award in time, but the present government was doing everything opposite.

“My responsibilities as the chief minister have now multiplied but I will try my level best to get the NFC award as soon as possible,” he added.

He stressed the need for capacity building of the police force to fight against militancy and crime.He said law enforcement agencies would act against criminals everywhere in the province.

Mr Shah said his team was there to face challenges in coordination with the opposition parties and people at large.

He said he was thankful to party leadership for posing confidence in him for the top job, which, the people of Sindh had also acknowledged.

“I will try to come up to the people’s expectations,” he said, promising that his government would uproot terrorism, lawlessness, corruption and was determined to serve the people.

“It is my firm resolve that I’d serve the people, for which there is no need of protocol for myself,” he said but at the same time hinted at grave security threats. He said he would work with the political parties in and outside the provincial assembly.

Speaking on the controversy involving extension of the tenure of the Rangers’ special policing powers, he said the issue would soon be resolved.

He added that his predecessor, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, had already worked on it. “Rangers and police are fighting against terrorism and criminals and are rendering sacrifices to provide security to people.”

He condemned the attack on the Rangers in Larkana which killed a paramilitary soldier.

His government, he said, would take measures to end the menace of corruption.

Earlier, Mr Shah visited the Rangers Hospital in Sukkur where he inquired about the health of Rangers soldiers who wounded in the blast in Larkana a day earlier.

Speaking to the media, Mr Shah said he had limited time in which a lot of work had to be done in Sindh, which required an efficient team for him.

He was accompanying provincial ministers and advisers, including Nisar Khuhro, Jam Mahtab Dahar, Sohail Anwar Siyal, Saeed Ghani and Maula Bux Chandio.

CM Shah had presided over the first meeting of his cabinet on Saturday evening in which he asked the members of his new cabinet to strive to remove the perception of corruption and bad governance associated with province for inexplicable reasons.

“There is a perception of corruption and bad governance in Sindh, which we have to remove collectively by establishing good governance and it is not a big deal but just we have to be honest in our work and actions,” he said.

He said that there were big challenges for his government — the foremost challenge was to remove the perception of corruption and bad governance in Sindh.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2016