–Expresses desire of working with Saylani Welfare Trust in PPP mode
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that Pakistan Quarters are very old and the people living there should be given an appropriate alternate arrangement before evacuation.
He said this while talking to media on Wednesday.
He said that in the light of Supreme Court (SC) orders under which an operation was launched against the residents of Pakistan Quarters to evacuate them. “When I saw it [operation] was turning violent, I intervened and directed the additional Karachi IG to withdraw the police immediately,” he said and added that had he not intervened, it would have created a bad law and order situation.
CM Murad said that before forcing them to vacate their quarters, the federal government should have made alternate arrangements for them. “Karachi is a very sensitive city and you have to be careful in handling the situation,” he said.
Replying to a question, the chief minister said that he had already given instructions to the chief secretary to hand over the record the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) had asked for. “But look at the demand,” he said, adding, “They [JIT] are demanding the record of 10 years right from 2008 to 2018, including the details of the contractors who participated in the different bids announced by Irrigations and Work & Services departments along with the names, CNIC numbers of the contractors to whom works were awarded. Now the question arises that there must be thousands of small and big works and the collection of the record would definitely take time.”
He said that the JIT once again has written another letter in which they have given names of 46 contractors and have demanded the record of the works awarded to them. “The government has given them the record of Works & Services department contracts and the record of Irrigation department is under preparation,” he said.
The chief minister said that whatever record was required by JIT would be given to them accordingly but there should be some rationale. “I have issued necessary directives to the chief secretary and the secretaries concerned,” he said, adding, “We are giving them each and everything – we would not hide anything.”
Responding to another question, he said that he was called by SC during his last tenure and he appeared happily and would also appear again if he is called.
To another question about the constitution of a task force on development by the federal government, the chief minister said, “Do not take it seriously – let them do whatever they want but they must invest in the infrastructure and uplift of Karachi,” he said, adding that he had a feeling that the federal government was ignoring Sindh in terms of development works.
Replying to a question about the Faisal Wavda, he said, “He [Wavda] has no knowledge of water system but he is frequently talking about his art of opening and closing the valves of the water. These valves are closed and opened by the valve-man working in water board.” He also said, “I would see if there is any vacancy of valve man in water board and would ask the board to take his interview for the position. But the positions of valve man are filled purely on merit.”
Earlier, the chief minister visited the headquarters of the Saylani Welfare Trust and met with the patients in the OPD.
Addressing the certificate distribution of IT courses, the chief minister said that his government had made the best interventions in health, education and other sectors in Thar but the issue of infant mortality is still rife. He said that he had come to the conclusion that the reason behind child mortality was unhealthy mothers. “Our different health programmes are in progress in Thar but there are various remote areas where they could not reach,” he said, adding, “We have to improve our reach there and for this purpose Saylani Welfare Trust can help.”
CM Murad said that the Sindh government had the best PPP unit through which roads, bridges, coal projects and health projects had been constructed and made functional in partnership with the private sector. “We, Sindh government and Saylani Welfare Trust, can establish the best partnership in health and water sector,” he said, adding, “We can work with Saylani Welfare Trust in IT, technical education and health programme.”
The chief minister said that Luqman Hakeem used to say that there were only two medicines, love and respect. “We can save poor people of Thar with loving care and can encourage them to come over in the mainstream and this can be done with respect,” he said.
He also said that he has ordered development of Health Management Information System under which the entire record of each and every woman right from conceiving pregnancy to the birth of the child and onward would be recorded in terms of their healthcare. “I am sure this would help improve mother-child health in Thar,” he said.
CM Murad also lauded the efforts of Saylani Welfare Trust in serving the poor and contributing in different sectors free of cost. “We are also doing the same service but we have some management issues and issues of huge workload, therefore, I want to work with Saylani in PPP mode,” he concluded.