KARACHI: Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Minister Asad Umar said on Sunday that the Sindh government “wants to put Pakistan in danger” with the amended Local Government Bill.
He denounced the Sindh government for “seeking to weaken the local bodies”.
His remarks follow the provincial government’s bulldozing amendments to the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2021, last month, during a press conference in the city.
The bill was first passed by the Sindh Assembly a month ago, but was sent back by the governor, who did not approve it.
But then in the subsequent session, when the opposition staged a walkout, the Treasury passed the amended bill.
In his address, Omar said the local government law in Sindh was “unconstitutional” and an “imperfect democracy”.
He said the federal government has filed a petition against the bill, stating that the provincial government “wants to put Pakistan in danger” with the amended bill.
The Minister said that the 18th Amendment to the Constitution has substantially increased the powers of all the provinces.
He said the sister of PPP president Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had earlier remarked that the province had been barred from buying vaccinations under the law.
“What is this law that prevents the Sindh government from buying vaccines for its citizens?” Omar asked.
“If there is such a law, let us know and we will change it,” he said.
The minister said the Center wants all provinces to “fulfill their responsibilities”.
Talking about the production and distribution of wheat in Sindh, he said that the investigation of the National Accountability Bureau has revealed the theft of 20 billion rupees of the crop.
“And they say that the rats ate it,” said the minister, “I don’t know whether these were human rats or what.”
He further said that the price of wheat flour in Sindh is higher than in Punjab.
Umar, who is also the chairman of the National Command and Operations Centre, which leads Pakistan’s fight against the coronavirus, said the new version, due to Omicron, “are a clear indication of the possibility of another coronavirus wave”.
He said he never indulges in any politics and does not discriminate against “any province” when it comes to the virus.
The NCOC chief said the government has immunized 71.5 million people, for which it has spent Rs 250 billion, despite “difficult conditions”.
In a message on Twitter earlier in the day, Omar had stressed on the use of masks amid the expected new COVID wave, saying it is “your best protection”.
‘It was Sindh that asked NAB to investigate’
Reacting to Omar’s press conference, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani said that it was the PPP minister who first reported the theft of wheat.
“It was the Sindh government which had written to the NAB asking for a probe,” he said.
Ghani alleged that the theft of wheat “happened during the tenure of one person for whom Imran Khan was the chief polling agent”.
“The Sindh government caught all those rats involved in the theft of wheat,” he said.
The provincial information minister said that “a rat ate 40 billion rupees from the Corona Fund”, and that the same mouse “stole the country’s property worth 600 billion rupees during the purchase of LNG”.
“Other rats cause a shortage of sugar and wheat in the country,” Ghani said.
protest at justice house
Meanwhile, protests broke out at Insaaf House ahead of Omar’s media briefing.
PTI activists stormed the site carrying posters and banners and raised slogans against the PTI Karachi leadership.
Activists said there was “unfair” distribution of tickets in the Karachi Cantonment elections.
They demanded that an inquiry report be prepared and shown regarding nepotism in Malir Cantonment local body elections.
They also demanded that an inquiry be conducted to determine who contributed to the candidates’ failure in the election and that they be held accountable.