Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said that Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is one of the allied parties of the provincial government of Pakistan Peoples Party and there is no conflict between the two parties adding that the issue of restoration of previous status of Hyderabad district would be settled in the meeting of Sindh Core Committee.
The Chief Minister expressed these remarks while talking to media men at the residence of Ex-MPA of PPP late Haji Muhammad Siddique Shoro in Kotri on Thursday where he had visited to offer condolences to the family members. Sindh Chief Minister accompanied by provincial ministers Agha Siraj Durrani, Jam Mehtab Dahar and Mohan Lal said that a wrong impression was taken of the statement of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.
The Prime Minister while replying to the questions of party workers had said that the bifurcation of Hyderabad district was a wrong decision which was based on bad intention and its previous status would be restored after taking the allied parties and other stake holders into confidence, Syed Qaim Ali Shah said.
The Chief Minister informed that he had talked to Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad as well as Dr Farooq Sattar MNA and members of the MQM Co-ordination Committee and the issue has now been settled. Both the parties have commitment to serve the masses of the province, he said and maintained that all issues including the restoration of previous status of Hyderabad would be settled amicably in the Core Committee meetings and if the same remain unsettled, then it will be moved to upper level.
Responding to a question about the issue of NFC, the Chief Minister said that the provincial government has some reservation on Value Added Tax (VAT), which has been communicated to the federal government. The collection of GST is the right of the provinces and the federal government has been informed in this direction, the Chief Minister said and added that Sindh Government has also demanded the same incentives for Sindh which are being provided to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.
In this direction, the Chief Minister replied that negotiations with the federal government are underway and hoped that decisions would be in favour of Sindh. The Chief Minister on the occasion paid tributes to the services of Ex-MPA late Haji Muhammad Siddique Shoro adding that his sacrifices for the restoration of democracy would be long remembered. Late Haji Muhammad Siddique Shoro had served the people of the area and it was the reason that he was elected MPA four times from the constituency, he said.
Earlier, the Chief Minister met with the family members of late Haji Muhammad Siddique Shoro and offered Fateha for rest to the departed soul. He also visited the residence of PPP worker Kamran Baloch and offered condolences on the demise of his father.