KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Information Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has said that all tall claims made by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi during his speech in Naushahro Feroze a day before are nothing but hollow slogans and advised the premier not to follow in the footsteps of his disqualified leader.

Before Mr Abbasi, he said, former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif too had made innumerable promises to people of Sindh during his visit to the province which he never bothered to fulfill, said Mr Shah at a press conference at the Pakistan Peoples Party media cell in Clifton on Sunday.

The premier himself was facing corruption charges over LNG deal, therefore, it ill behoved him to hurl graft allegations at others, he said.

He said the federation owed Rs50 billion to Sindh which it had yet to clear. Instead of making boastful speeches, the premier should take necessary steps to announce new National Finance Commission award and end loadshedding in Sindh, he said.

Mr Shah said without naming Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief that the opposition wanted to replace Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly with a person of their choice who could act according to directions to be given to him by umpire. One could not expect Syed Khursheed Shah to look to the umpire before acting, he said.

He said that Imran Khan who was talking against Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari should tell people whose shoulder his party was using to climb up the ladder to power.

PPP had strengthened provinces through the 18th Amendment to the Constitution though there were still many institutions, which had not yet been handed over to provinces in the light of the amendment, he said.

Mr Shah said that PPP would continue to play its role to safeguard the parliament and play opposition at the Center.

HYDERABAD: PPP Sindh information secretary Senator Aajiz Dhamra has termed the prime minister’s speech in Naushahro Feroze ‘a pack of lies’.

In a statement issued here on Sunday, Mr Dhamra ridiculed the PM for accusing PPP government of victimising PML-N workers. “Is there really any worker of PML-N in Sindh who faces vindictive actions,” he wondered.

He said that extent of injustices committed by PML-N government against Sindh had no parallel in history. Mr Abbasi had made false promises to people of Sindh like his disqualified leader.

He said the PML-N government was depriving Sindh domiciled employees in the federal government of promotions and was harping on the same tune of building a motorway in Sindh which was in fact a modified super highway.

He said that credit went to Benazir Bhutto for the Charter of Democracy (CoD) that paved Mr Sharif’s way for return to Pakistan and closed the door of dictatorship.

He said that Mr Zardari honoured the CoD, which kept the PML-N government intact through the four years, but Mr Sharif breached the trust by getting Yousuf Raza Gilani ousted through judiciary. PML-N was punishing people of Sindh for voting PPP to power in the province, he added.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2017