Sharjeel asks why MQM-P is silent over paltry federal allocation for K-IV

Reacting to the opposition’s protest during the budget speech of the Sindh chief minister on Friday, Sindh Senior Minister for Information and Transport Sharjeel Inam Memon said the alliance between the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had been clearly exposed.

He remarked that the same parties that once contested against each other were now seen standing side by side on the assembly floor. According to Memon, while this alliance may send a new political message, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was unfazed by it.

Speaking to the media at the Sindh Assembly Media Corner, Memon said the politics of the MQM-P was evident to all. He said the MQM-P had consistently avoided participating in the local government elections because it no longer enjoyed public support. He added that the people of Sindh had always given their mandate to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

The information minister said the PPP had eradicated hooliganism, bodies in sacks, extortion and politics of fear from Karachi. He was of the view that the behaviour exhibited by the MQM-P in the assembly stemmed from a sense of deprivation. The drama staged under the pretext of an attack on Iran had also been exposed.

The Sindh chief minister began his speech by condemning a cowardly attack on Iran, yet the opposition chose to indulge in negative politics even on such a sensitive occasion, he said. Memon remarked that while positive politics was the right of everyone, those who consistently engaged in negative and disruptive politics should take note that the PPP had never bowed to pressure in the past and it would not do so today or in the future.

If the MQM-P truly cared about the people of Karachi, it would have raised its voice against the federal government over the budget for the K-4 water project but it chose to remain a silent spectator, he said.

He stated that the MQM-P lawmakers acted like puppets when it came to the budget for a critical project like the Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway. In response to a question, Memon said he did not know where the MQM-P’s hardware came from or why it malfunctioned. He added that the Sindh government had launched several development projects in Karachi, and the Jam Sadiq Bridge would be inaugurated either this month or the beginning of next month.

He said the Sindh government had given special attention to Karachi and never drawn a distinction between Karachi and the rest of Sindh. He added that if those holding fake mandates truly had public support, they would not have chosen to run away from the local government elections.

Speaking about the budget, the information minister said the Sindh government had presented a people-friendly budget. Salaries for employees from grade 1 to 16 had been increased by 12 per cent, while those for employees of grade 17 and above had been raised by 10 per cent.

Sindh Minister for Energy and Planning & Development Syed Nasir Hussain Shah also spoke on the occasion and said the opposition’s protest intended to target the chief minister. He added that the way the chief minister by implementing the vision of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and President Asif Ali Zardari had effectively neutralised the opposition's politics.

He said the budget was highly commendable, and a detailed briefing on it would be provided to journalists tomorrow. He added that members of the Sindh Assembly currently received the lowest honorarium in the country, and efforts were under way to bring that in line with other provinces.