Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Parvaiz Khattak have accused the federal government of steeling the electricity of their provinces and complained that it never consulted provincial governments while framing development projects.
The provincial chief ministers stated this while talking to media persons at the CM House on Sunday evening.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said when the federal government turns its face from problems of provincial governments and fails to fulfill its responsibilities, the provinces and the political parties had constitutional right to stage protests.
He said people were demanding development works from the provincial governments and they took to streets and staged sit-ins even at the gate of CM House. “We deal them decently. But it is quite surprising that the federal government neither consults provincial governments while working out development programmes nor gives due financial share from the divisible pool,” he added.
Talking about the Sindh’s share in NFC, Syed Qaim Ali Shah deplored that the federal government was reluctant to convene CCI meetings. “Even if the meeting was called, the agenda of the meeting was set unilaterally by the federal government,” he complained.
KP Chief Minister Parvaiz Khatak said the federal government was stealing 500 MW of his province. “They are also stealing 1000 MW of Sindh province. But I have taken up this issue with the federal government and now it is the turn of Sindh government to fight out its case with them (Center),” he said, and added that the 100 MMCF gas of his province was being denied.
The Sindh chief minister said that 17 to 18 hours load shedding was being carried out in interior areas of Sindh. “We have written lot of letters to the federal government but all our letters, protests and complaints have fallen flat on their ears,” he said.
Both the chief minister unanimously said that Kalabagh Dam was a dead issue. The federal government sometimes tried to raise this issue so that it could turn public attention from genuine issues, they added.
They urged the federal government to name the new under-construction Islamabad airport after Abdul Sattar Edhi.