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‘Provincial autonomy a necessity’
KARACHI: The only option to have all the problems faced by provinces resolved is to grant more autonomy to them, said Sindh Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Makhdoom Jamil-uz-Zaman told Sindh Assembly members on Thursday. Participating in budget discussion, Zaman said,. “Rifts over water issue, tax revenue and all other issues would get resolved when the provinces are made autonomous as per the constitution.”
“In the first meeting of the Inter-Provincial Committee, all four provinces had agreed on giving the right to collect GST on services back to provinces. President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani were supporting the idea of making provinces more autonomous,” he said. Zaman noted that they would oppose the division of Punjab province into three provinces, as this would pave way for the division of Sindh as well.
Minister for Labour Ameer Nawab Khan said all problems faced by masses could be solved if the provinces are given more autonomy. Minister for Culture and Tourism Sassui Palijo said Mangla Dam was not only constructed for Punjab but for the whole country. She demanded Sindh’s share of water for from Mangla Dam.
She stressed the need to make provinces autonomous with immediate effect to solve their issues. Minister Shoaib Bukhari demanded the Sindh government to allocate funds for subsidy on Sasti Roti scheme, since the Punjab government had allocated Rs 4 billion in its new budget for this purpose. Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza said Japan wants to establish an economic zone in Karachi, for which land has been selected.
Minister for Food Mir Nadir Khan Magsi said Balochistan’s districts Jhal Magsi and Jaffarabad are more developed than his district Kambar-Shahdadkot. He demanded the government to allocate more funds for its development. He opposed closure of water release from Saifullah Magsi Canal to his district. ppi
Daily Times: Friday, June 26, 2009
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