KARACHI:Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that he doesn’t know if back door contacts between Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and the Establishment have been established.
“This is purely a matter of the PDM leadership and I don’t know what is happening there,” he said while talking to the media here at Sindh Assembly Building on Tuesday.
To a question about the back door contact between the PDM and the Establishment, Murad Ali Shah said, he had no knowledge of such contacts. The PDM leadership was capable enough to answer the media about this question.
To another question about the Workers Welfare Fund (WWF), the CM said that the WWF, under the 18th constitutional amendment, was devolved to the provinces. He added that the provincial assembly has passed a bill to collect WWF and engaged the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) to collect the fund on behalf of the Workers Welfare Board.
The federal government which has bitterly failed to achieve its revenue collection targets has now come up with the decision to centralize WWF collection. “I don’t remember when the WWF collection agenda was taken up in the CCI meeting,” he said and added he would check it with the minutes and other document then he’ll brief the media about the provincial government stance on the matter but this is very clear that the CCI could not supersede the provincial law,” he said
Replying to a question about acute shortage of natural gas in Sindh, Mr Shah said that the province of Sindh was the largest gas producer in the country and its people have the first and foremost right to use it. “I strongly condemn the act of depriving people of Sindh from their constitutional right for using the gas,” he said and added that his government would take up the issue with the federal government.
To another question, Murad Ali Shah said that PPP was organizing a public meeting on December 27 at Garhi Khuda Bux to observe the death anniversary of Shaheed Mohterma Benazir Bhutto. “Our public meeting would be held in open space and it is not a closed door gathering that COVID-19 would spread,” he said.
Replying to a question about Shahbaz Gill’s statement, the chief minister said that his [Mr Gill’s] statement was a pack of lies. “I went to America for a private visit and behind me some `talking machines’ started running the ‘rumor mills’,” he said and added he had no need to respond to the baseless statements of such people.
Talking about his resignation from the provincial assembly, Shah said he and other PPP MPAs, except one member have handed over their resignations [from the provincial assembly] to the party leadership. “This is a minor thing and there is no need to worry about it,” he said and added the party has given us the assembly seat and they have the right to take it back whenever they want.
COVID-19 Situation: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, in a statement issued from CM House, disclosed that unfortunately stemming from COVID-19 we have 27 more deaths overnight and 1005 new cases emerged when 10,914 tests were conducted.
He said that 27 more patients lost their lives overnight lifting the death toll to 3,379 that constituted 1.6 percent death rate.
Mr Shah said that 10,914 tests were conducted against which 1005 cases were detected that came to 0.2 percent current detection rate. He added that so far 2,252,876 samples have been tested which diagnosed 206,489 cases, of the 89 percent or 184,192 [patients] have recovered, including 2590 overnight.
The CM said that currently 18,918 patients were under treatment, of them 18,079 were in home isolation, 13 at isolation centers and 826 in different hospitals. He added that the condition of 731 patients was stated to be critical, including 86 shifted to ventilators.
According to the statement, out of 1005 new cases, 742 have been detected from Karachi, including 325 from East, 176 South, 97 Central, 58 Korangi, 50 Malir, and 36 West. Hyderabad has 37 cases, Jacobabad 27, Sanghar 22, Dadu 13, Jamshoro, Naushehroferoze and Tando Allahyar 11 each, Tando Mohammad Khan and Thatta eight each, Sujawal and Ghotki seven each, Umerkot and Kashmore three each, Khairpur two, Mirpurkhas and Badin one each.
Law and Order: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah presiding over a meeting on law and order has directed provincial police to start snap checking and start extensive patrolling to improve further law and order in the province.
The meeting was attended by Minister Local Government Nasir Shah, Advisor Murtaza Wahab, Inspector General of Police Mushtaq Maher, PSCM Sajif Jamal Abro, ACS Home Usman Chachar. Adl IG Karachi Ghulam Nabi Memon.
IG Police Mushtaq Maher gave a detailed overall briefing about law and order situation in the province to the chief minister while the briefing of the Adl IG Karachi was city- specific.
Murad Ali Shah directed the IG Police to ensure proper and extensive police patrolling in the city and in other districts. The targeted and intelligence-based operation launched against drug mafia, terrorists, out laws and the street criminals should continue.
He said that the responsibility of the police department was to ensure proper protection of the public and their property. “Alhamdullah, the overall law and order situation in the province is satisfactory but we have made it an exemplary,” he said.
ACS Home Usman Chahar briefed the chief minister about the measures taken to implement Standard Operational Procedure (SOPs) in the city.