Sindh govt responsible for hike in prices of flour, sugar: Asad Umar

SUKKUR: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Sunday said the PPP’s Sindh government had created an artificial price hike in the province by not releasing wheat stock and sugar to the flour mills as majority of these mills belong to the top leadership of the ruling party.

He was addressing a big public meeting and workers convention organized by the PTI central region Sindh at Kotri in District Jamshoro, on Sunday. He said the PTI government had disbursed Rs6.5 billion among the people of Sindh under the Ehsaas Emergency cash during COVID-19 pandemic to save them from starvation while the Sindh government could not provide them even a penny during that difficult time.

The PPP leadership is raising the issue of inflation and protests were staged in the province to mislead the general public, Asad Umar said and added that Sindh and Punjab are surplus wheat producers but the Sindh government had not released wheat to flour mills due to which the flour price in the province had touched Rs80 per kg as compared to Rs55 per kg price in Punjab. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah should tell the reason as to why wheat is being sold in Sindh at higher prices as compared to Punjab, he questioned.

While terming the PDM a seasonal illness, Asad Umar said parties in this alliance were often coming out on the roads in the winter and then went back to the drawing rooms. He categorically said that general elections would be held in 2023 and this time the PTI will form its government in Sindh also and our worker will be the next chief minister of the province. After the passage of 18th Amendment, all authority has been delegated to the provinces, from health, education to all sectors, provincial government was responsible of providing services to their people, Asad Umar said and added that despite the 18th Amendment, Prime Minister Imran Khan asked the federal authorities to provide relief to the people of Sindh during coronavirus pandemic and billions of rupees cash amount as well as COVID-19 vaccines were provided to them while the provincial government had not procured even a single dose of the vaccine.

Asad Umar said under the Kamyab Jawan program, skill development training was provided to19,700 youths of Sindh, of which loans were given to 3,200 youths for starting their own businesses. The minister said the federal government had approved projects worth Rs1.8 billion rupees for two universities of Jamshoro district, ie Sindh University and Mehran Engineering University. He said the federal government had announced plans to establish a university in Hyderabad but the PPP government had strongly opposed its establishment. He said the Pakistan People’s party had not constructed even one kilometre road of the Motorway while the PTI had constructed the Multan-Sukkur Motorway, November 18 was fixed as the last date for submitting bids for Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan will soon visit here to perform ground-breaking of this mega project.

Asad Umar asked Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah as to why flour was being sold in Sindh at the rate of Rs80 per kg as compared to Rs55 per kg in Punjab. He said a large quantity of wheat stocked in government godowns had been eaten by mice. Criticizing the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Asad Umar said the PDM was a seasonal illness and it outbreaks in winter and will disappear soon.

Addressing the public gathering, the opposition leader in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh said the PPP government had destroyed each and every corner of the province and people were given contaminated water from Karachi to Kashmore. Clean drinking water is being sold through water tankers while it is not being given through water supply to make money, Haleem Adil said and added that contaminated water mixed with gutter water was being provided to people of Hyderabad, Sukkur Larkana, Mirpurkhas, Dadu and other cities and towns. He said once the PPP was a party of the martyrs but now it had become the party of killers. He said in Karachi, an innocent youth named Nazim Jokhio was tortured to death by PPP MPA as he had stopped influential hunters from entering their houses. In Larkana, an innocent woman Fahmida Siyal was gunned down by another PPP MPA, adding he requested the federal government to take action against PAS and PSP officers who had become personal servants of provincial party leaders. He said Jamshoro was the district of Chief Minister Sindh and police of this district were involved in supply of drugs while hashish is being supplied in police mobile vans but no one was arrested.

Haleem Adil said those who raise voice against PPP leaders were being harassed, tortured and implicated in fake cases. He said two journalists Aziz Memon and Ajay Lalwani had been murdered for their reporting against PPP MNA and MPAs.

PTI leaders Pir Xaman Shah, MNA Lal Malhi, MNA Jay Parkash Akrani, Hakim and others also addressed the public meeting. ReAssign Revert