The PPP MPAsin the budget debate in Sindh assembly severely castigated Prime Minister Imran Khan for the Centre’s dismal response to the coronavirus pandemic. On the other hand, the opposition members criticised the budget presented by the Sindh government for the upcoming fiscal year. Sindh Culture Minister Sardar Shah took the opportunity to call for the registration of an FIR against PM Khan for the deaths of 3,930 people as a result of Covid-19. He claimed that Khan and the federal government had failed to take the pandemic seriously, only creating confusion among the masses. “If a proper lockdown was imposed, with other drastic measures, we would not be facing such a situation. We are now suffering due to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government,” he insisted. The minister then turned to the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities and fuel in the country. “We used to hear titles such as ‘Quaid-e-Millat’ (Leader of the Nation), but our premier is the Quaid-e-Qillat (Leader of Scarcity),” he complained. Moving on to his own department, Shah claimed it was only under the PPP that historic locations and heritage were being preseved in Sindh, while excavation had begun at various archaeological sites. The leader of the opposition, PTI’sFirdousShamimNaqvi, meanwhile, insisted that his demand for governor rule in Sindh was not against the law, pointing out that the clause was inserted in the Constitution by PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto himself. Addressing the house, Naqvi said, “PPP leaders criticise me when I talk about it. If it was wrong, why did Bhutto make this clause part of the 1973 Constitution? I am not against the 18th Amendment but want to remove anomalies in it.” He added that the lockdown was a good thing but had not been implemented in letter and spirit, forcing the needy and the daily-wage workers out on the streets from hunger. He further lambasted the Sindh government for complaining about its share in the National Finance Commission while refusing to distribute resources at the grassroots level under a provincial finance commission award. Grand Democratic Alliance MPAHasnainMirza, too, criticised the Sindh government for failing to allocate funds and introducing new schemes for poverty-ridden districts, including Tharparkar, Mirpurkhas and Badin. “There are ventilators in Badin but no one to operate them,” he pointed out, adding that the Sindh University’s Laar campus and the cadet college scheme were languishing under the government’s neglect. Sindh Education and Labour Minister SaeedGhani, though, insisted that the PTI had destroyed the country’s economy. “By the time the pandemic started, Pakistan’s economy had already sunk. When PTI came into power, the GDP growth was 5.7 per cent, but now it’s negative.”
