A meeting of the National Economic Council which was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Monday and attended by all chief ministers of all the provinces and other members appears to have deepened the mistrust between the federal government and the Sindh government.

At this meeting, according to media reports, Sindh chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah accused the federal government of meting out step-motherly treatment to his province. According to him, the federal government has been found reluctant to make timely releases of funds for development projects in Sindh. Although it is heartening to note that the prime minister has emphasised on increasing the pace of implementation of development projects to ensure that the gains made through stabilisation of the economy could be translated into economic growth resulting in the well-being of the people of Pakistan, he is required to take all the needed steps aimed at addressing all the genuine grievances of Sindh province in the larger interest of federation in accordance with the letter and spirit of the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

Kamran Lashari (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021