Federal Minister for Interior, Planning and Development, Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday emphasized that instead of remaining glued to one political party, the people of Sindh should be rationale and makes the best use of their votes for their better future and that of Sindh and the country.
"I request the people of Sindh to look for a better option, instead of putting yours eggs in the same nest since long, he said while speaking at the launch of a book written by Senior Vice President of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz from Sindh and once a nationalist leader Shah Muhammad Shah here at Arts Council of Pakistan.
The Sindhi version book titled "Story of Uneven Journey" is the auto-biography of Shah Muhammad Shah who has shared his experiences from his student politics to the main stream politics. Most of his life time, Shah had remained in the politics of resistance like Anti One Unit Front and Movement of Restoration of Democracy (MRD). He remained in jails for many years under all dictators' rule. Professor Ahsan Iqbal, who is also Acting Central Secretary General of PML-N, stressed that all the provinces should be engaged in cut-throat competition in the social and economic development of their people and try to take lead.
"After getting autonomy under 18th amendment, I fear, if one province makes a lot of progress on economic and social fronts, it would create sense of deprivation among the people of other provinces which would be not good for the national harmony. Every province has to deliver," he articulated. After 18th Amendment, he argued, the responsibilities of the provincial governments had increased; along with enhanced authority to the resources and more share from the federal divisible pool of resources. Now, the Federal Government had very limited role in the provinces' affairs.
However, he added, PML-Nawaz government at the centre had extended maximum support to the provincial governments including those of Sindh and Balochistan. In Sindh, it had given many mega development projects. Coal Mining and Power projects in Thar, Construction of Keti Bandar and Karachi Circular Railways System were included in China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The work on Keti Bandar and KCR would start soon, he said. Besides, the work on different sections of the Motorway was going on fast track and the Motorway from Peshawar to Karachi by 2020. This strong linkage would help in bringing social-economic revolution in the country, he said.
He also mentioned that PML-N government had given record financial grants to the universities of all the provinces, without any political consideration. He said it was irony of the fact that the sensitive people of the country mostly had been engaged in the politics of resistance. He urged the old national political parties, having long experiences of politics, to play their due role to save the democracy from derailing and contribute in economic prosperity and development of the country.
He said that 21st century was the century of economic ideologies. That is why, he said, PML-N government led by the then prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif highly welcomed CPEC and found it the best opportunity for the country to get maximum share in the economic globalization. If South Asia, Central Asia and China become one economic block, Pakistan would be its centre, the Minister said.
Professor Ahsan Iqbal said that as a progressive nation we would have to develop our capacity by pursuing modern skills and technologies to keep fast pace with the developed countries.
"I would request Sindhi intellectuals to focus on modern education and skill development especially among the youth," he said. PML-N's Acting Central Secretary General was critical that all undemocratic governments in the past had damaged the country on different counts. Now, 200 million people of the country would not allow any conspiracy against the democracy. That, the present government would complete its tenure on June 4, 2018 and next government would come by democratic process.
Professor Ahsan Iqbal congratulated Shah Muhammad Shah for writing his auto-biography that would become a part of history. He acknowledged that Shah was the man of principle and did politics of ideology. Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping and Chief of Balochistan National Party Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo urged that political workers should write true account of their political struggle and main political events of their life for the benefit of the new generation.
The author of the book Shah Muhammad Shah, responding to the critics, admitted that there were certain shortcomings in his book. But, he informed, two more volumes he was working on and would try to include maximum information /details about the political struggle and the socio-economic developments in the country and at the regional and international levels over his life. He said it was his duty to write this book which should had been written earlier.
He underlined the need for greater dialogue among the political parties for the better future of the country. Other speakers included Chairman Sindh United Party Jalal Mehmood Shah, Zahida Hina, Qamar Zamman Rajpar, Yousif Mastikhan, Advocate Masood Noorani and Madad Ali Sindhi.
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