Sindh Chief minister is reported to have said that he does not mince words when it comes to making assessment of people claiming to be leaders and representatives of 160 million people of Pakistan. Sources said on Wednesday that the chief minister was giving his reaction to various comments on his observations in relation to women as head of state.
They said the chief minister was critical of generalised statements on the obtaining political situation in Pakistan and the position of President General Pervez Musharraf as head of state. Sources said the chief minister had questioned the claim that certain leaders were the sole representatives of the people of Pakistan, and their opinion should be regarded as the opinion of the people of Pakistan.
They said that Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif were in exile and had lost contact with the people of Pakistan. They might be having their own parties but whether they enjoyed support from their respective parties was yet to be seen. In criticising President Musharraf, the exiled leaders forget their responsibilities towards Pakistan and speak in a language that does not support Pakistan's national interests, they added.
Sources said that the Sindh chief minister has a principled stand on a number of issues and would not hesitate in making statement that would be necessary to keep all records straight.
They said that the chief minister is a religious man and would not tolerate anything repugnant to the teachings of Islam. He has his reservation on the issue whether a woman can be elected or selected as head of state.
The spokesman of the chief minister said that views on national issues may be different but it does not call far the use of un-parliamentary language by political opponents to express their point of view. He said that the chief minister was fully in control of administrative as well as political situation and would continue to discharge his functions as long as he is there.
He said that the development work in Sindh for the Sindhis would speak for itself. "Development in Sindh has brought about changes in the lives of the local people; villagers have increased their earnings; irrigation water is being made available to all; and crime is under control."
He said that the chief minister was least bothered by the frivolous statements from the opponents and was busy in his programme for the betterment of the people of Sindh.
He said that the chief minister would launch development programmes for the benefit of villagers in the province and ensure that basic needs of the farmers were met. "They are given agricultural loans on easy terms; water is provided to tail-enders; procurement of crops is made on time; and relief is provided to calamity hit areas, if any."