Sindh govt playing role of a spoiler: Shibli

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz on Friday said that instead of creating hurdles in the projects, the Sindh government should facilitate the development of province, including Karachi. Talking to the media at the Sindh Governor’s House, the minister said the Sindh government was doing negative politics. “Whether it was the islands project or the Karachi package, it was unfortunately playing the role of a spoiler.” He said the mega city of Karachi was the country’s economic hub and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government wanted to resolve the problems of its people, who had reposed confidence in the party in the last general election. He said first the Sindh government had issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the islands project and then all of a sudden it started raising objections on account its negative impacts on environment. The minister said the whole country knew the corruption stories of the Sindh elite class. Shibli Faraz recalled that Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami project and the Sindh government followed suit. It was appreciable if the provincial government took such positive steps, he added. He said the role of Sindh government during the COVID-19 pandemic was also negative as it had created financial crisis by imposing lockdown across the province. When the federal government, he said, announced the Karachi package, it again tried to create hurdles in its way. The Sindh rulers were, in fact, politicking on every matter pertaining to the welfare of people, he added. To a question, he said the islands project would bring foreign investment and also create job opportunities for the local people. To another query, he said the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had now become a tale of the past as the people knew that its leaders were out for their personal interests. They were applying pressure tactics so as to escape from accountability, he added. To a question, he said the major chunk of natural gas produced in Sindh, was being supplied to the province. Meanwhile, talking to party parliamentarians belonging to Sindh, Shibli Faraz said Prime Minister Imran Khan was fully focussed to reduce inflation, boost economy and create more job opportunities for the people. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, he said, had taken many initiatives and introduced programmes for the public welfare. The PTI’s elected representatives should be in direct contact with the people to resolve their problems, he said. He said the PTI was playing its role as a strong opposition in the Sindh Assembly. Speaking on the occasion, Leader of the Opposition in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh said Pakistan People’s Party rulers had destroyed Sindh through their corrupt practices. The parliamentarians on the occasion apprised the minister of the problems and issues being faced by them. Member of Provincial Assembly Firdous Shamim Naqvi was also present on the occasion. Separately, talking to Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) members at the PBA House, Shibli Faraz said the PTI government firmly believed in the public right to ‘freedom of expression’ and considered it their basic constitutional and democratic right. The minister said concerted efforts were required on part of every segment to brave the series of challenges currently faced by the country and solve ensuing problems in the pragmatic manners. He said the government was also paying equal attention towards strengthening and promotion of media industry that had immense value across the world and was rightly considered as a vehicle of change. Shibli assured that problems being faced by the PBA would be addressed through mutual cooperation and coordination besides consistent interactions. At the onset of meeting, PBA Secretary General Shakil Masud discussed the difficulties being faced by the electronic media emphasizing that it was an industry that needed support from the stakeholders. The meeting among others was also attended by PBA Vice Chairman Mir Ibrahim and office bearers including Sultan Lakhani, Tahir A Khan, Shahid Jamal, Naz Afreen and Saira Tahir.