KARACHI:,,, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah believes that a chief minister should establish a friendly and cooperative working relationship with the federal government, regardless of the political party in power, which is important for addressing the issues faced by the people of the province.
President Asif Ali Zardari has taught us that to serve the people of the province, the chief minister must cultivate a good working relationship with the federal government, regardless of which party it belongs to. This is what Mr Ali Amin Gandapur must follow for the interest of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
This he said while talking to media just after casting his vote for senate election at Sindh Assembly.
When asked about the General Election, Mr Shah mentioned that the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) had not put forward its candidates in all the constituencies. He stated that in his own constituency of Sehwan, his GDA opponent was unable to arrange polling agents at all polling stations, which was a similar situation wherever the GDA had fielded its candidates across the province. Mr. Shah found it surprising that the GDA was claiming that they had been forcibly defeated despite these circumstances.
To a question, the CM said that law and order has improved in the province with the induction of the elected government. “We are taking necessary measures to control law and order in the province by curbing kidnapping for ransom in the Riverine area and street crime in Karachi,” he said and added he has given the maintenance of law and order as one of the top priorities of his government.
Murad Shah was asked about the appointment of a new federal finance minister. He stated that the country is currently going through a critical phase, and he believes that the new finance minister would be vital in steering the country out of its financial crisis.
To a question, he mentioned that he held the portfolio of the University and Boards and was looking into the matter of the chairman Board of Intermediate Karachi. He said that he would resolve the issue in the interests of the educational board.
Talking about the appointment of chairman IRSA, the chief minister said that IRSA came into being through the 19991 Water Accord. The purpose was to create an autonomous authority so that the federal government could not influence its decisions.
Mr Shah said that IRSA was a five-member body, each province has one member and one from the federal government. The chairmanship rotates amongst the five members. Mr Shah said that during the caretaker government, an amendment was introduced in the IRSA Act under which six member was inducted.
The CM said that he was trying to contact the prime minister to discuss the matter and hopefully it would be resolved.