CM Murad accuses federal govt of discriminatory attitude against Sindh

• Sindh CM writes letter to PM Imran Khan. 
• Murad asks PM Imran Khan to review proposed new PSDP plan. 
• Development schemes for Sindh ignored in PSDP, says Sindh CM. 

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Saturday penned a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, accusing the centre of adopting a discriminatory attitude towards Sindh. 

In the letter, the disgruntled Sindh chief minister accused the PTI-led government of ignoring the centre's obligation towards Sindh, as per a report in The News. 

He said the discrimination against Sindh was evident from the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) which was set to become part of the budget for the financial year 2021-22. 

Murad said the development schemes for Sindh had been ignored in the proposed new PSPD for the upcoming fiscal year. He cited the example of the federal entity Sindh Infrastructure Development Company, saying that it was interfering in the matters of the province like the "East India Company". 

He mentioned in his letter that reservations and complaints of the province concerning the cause of its development were constantly being ignored. The chief minister said that the centre had been treating the people of Sindh unjustly, demanding that the excesses in this regard should come to an end.

The chief minister pointed out that the proposed PSDP contained 22 National Highway Authority (NHA) schemes for Punjab and on the other hand, only two for Sindh. 

He complained that several schemes proposed by his government for the construction of roads and provision of drainage system in Sindh had not been included in the new PSPD.

Murad complained to the prime minister that Sindh's share in the federal budget was even lower compared to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

He complained of the Sehwan-Jamshoro highway, saying that Sindh had paid 50% for its construction but the NHA was yet to complete the highway project, despite four years passing. CM Murad said the incomplete highway project continued to endanger human lives.

Urging the prime minister to review the PDSP plan, the chief minister said the prime minister should remove the grievances of the people of Sindh. 

He wrote about the K-IV bulk water supply scheme as well, saying that it was not possible it would be timely completed as the budget reserved for the project would probably lapse. 

He mentioned that Federal Finance Ministry had proposed development projects for Punjab having a cumulative value of Rs 86,605.72 million while for Sindh, the proposed projects have the value of just Rs 4,808.97 million as this allocation is too much less.

He said that funds of billions of rupees had been allocated for provincial road sector schemes in Punjab but unfortunately there was no such allocation for Sindh. He said that federal government had earlier allocated funds to carry out development works, having substandard quality, in Sindh at the level of union councils without taking into account the provincial government.

He said Article-156 of the Constitution had also been violated by the federal government when it failed to convene a meeting of the National Economic Council. He said the elements of injustice and prejudice shouldn’t be removed from the new PSDP.