Says people sitting on ‘charitable or artificial mandates’ cannot make the decisions of the nation
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon speaking in the Sindh Assembly. — SCREENGRAB
Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon on Monday criticised federal ministers who have been calling for the establishment of new provinces and administrative units as the products of “Form-47” rather than real “public representatives”.
The debate over new provinces started in late July when Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi called for the creation of additional administrative units or provinces to overhaul the country’s outdated governance system, stressing that meaningful structural reforms were essential to ensure justice and create opportunities for young people. This has resulted in a series of remarks thrown back and forth from major political parties in Sindh and various federal ministers.
Speaking in the Sindh Assembly, Memon described statements by federal ministers about the provinces and the 18th Amendment in recent days as “extremely regrettable”.
Memon criticised Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Health Minister Mustafa Kamal for making statements against the 18th Amendment, saying that if they had any objection to the amendment or the powers of the provinces, then they should “come to the parliament and speak”.
Read: Ahsan Iqbal proposes 15 new provinces
“You can make statements in front of the media or in public gatherings, but if you really have an argument and a position, then come to the assembly and speak,” Memon said.
He asked the federal ministers to first go among the people, get elected by securing votes from the people and then speak about the decisions of the nation. “People sitting on charitable or artificial mandates cannot make the decisions of the nation”.
Memon stated that after the passage of the 18th Amendment, the provinces were autonomous and had made significant progress in health, education, energy and other sectors, further adding that it was a “matter of regret that today some ministers of the federal government are speaking against the same amendment”.
He underlined that the federal ministers should first look at the benefits of this amendment and the performance of the provinces as a result of it.
Memon said that Sindh had made significant progress in the sectors of health, education and infrastructure after the 18th Amendment, adding that universities and modern medical facilities had been established in cities like Sukkur.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Saturday strongly condemned recent statements by federal ministers regarding the creation of new provinces and administrative units, warning that such remarks amounted to interference in the constitutional status of Sindh.
Read: PPP digs in its heels on new provinces
The party issued the warning at an important meeting of the PPP Sindh chapter chaired by provincial president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro. The meeting reviewed the political situation in Sindh and the statements issued by federal ministers following the unanimous passage by the Sindh Assembly of a resolution opposing the division of the province.
The meeting demanded that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif take notice of the statements by federal ministers and direct them to refrain from making remarks about new provincial units.
The PPP warned the federal government that it did not have the two-thirds majority required in parliament to amend the Constitution. It urged the government not to undermine the continuity of democracy or attempt to endanger the country’s integrity.
The meeting maintained that the PPP wanted the democratic process to continue but would not allow the 18th Amendment, provincial autonomy, the unity of Sindh or the constitutional rights of provinces to be undermined.
The participants said the creation of new provinces and administrative units was a matter to be dealt with under the Constitution and warned the federal government and its ministers against interfering in the constitutional status of the provinces.
They warned that if federal ministers continued making such statements, the PPP would consider the federal government itself to be behind what it described as a conspiracy against the province.
