Imran sees Sindh ready for political change

HYDERABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said that his party- if formed the next government- will introduce holistic agriculture and water policies while also resolving the long standing problems in Sindh.

The PTI leader gave this assurance here on Friday while speaking to a delegation of the farmers representatives at the Insaaf House, which he inaugurated prior to the meeting on Jamshoro road.

During the day long visit to Hyderabad, Khan inaugurated the party's office, met the farmers, addressed a women workers convention and visited half a dozen membership camps in the district.

Khan also condoled with the families of late leftist leader Jam Saqi and 2 workers of the PTI.

Speaking at the meeting with the farmers, Imran Khan said political will was required to fight the sugar mafia in Sindh against which the farmers in Sindh had been complaining about exploitation for several years.

He said the PTI would form a comprehensive policy for water and agriculture sectors in order to enable the rural economy to grow besides planning for making efficient use of water.

"Today the smaller provinces don't trust the bigger province. The causes for this mistrust have to be ended," he said.

He told that the KPK was also not getting its due share of water for last 25 years and added that if the provinces got their water than around 400,000 acres of land could be brought under cultivation.

PTI's Vice Chairman MNA Shah Mehmood Qureshi predicted that acute shortage of water would hit Sindh and Balochistan provinces in coming years.

He said the PPP would try to make an issue of the water crises in order to hide its bad governance and corruption in Sindh. "The PPP will cry out that it's very cruel that Sindh is not being given its share of water," he said.

He observed that major changes were required in the agriculture sector in order to end the rural poverty.

He assured that if they came to the power a holistic agriculture policy would be formed in consultation with the stakeholders.

"We couldn't liberate ourselves from the curse of the PPP," complained the elderly agriculturist and president of Sindh Abadgar Board Abdul Majeed Nizamani in the meeting.

He said a mindset existed in Sindh which influenced the people to vote for the PPP even though the people know well that the party would not deliver.

Nawab Zubair Talpur, the head of Sindh Abadgar Ittehad, alleged that tens of billions of rupees loss had been suffered by the sugarcane farmers alone in Sindh as the PPP's provincial government sided with the sugar mills instead of the farmers.

He added that despite huge losses suffered by the farmers the government was providing billions of rupees in subsidy to the mills.

He claimed that the cane growers were not even paid the Sindh High Court fixed rate. "Similarly, now the wheat farmers are not being given the gunny bags as the officials are embezzling billions from the procurement funds," he alleged.

Sindh Chamber of Agriculture's Nab Bux Sathio said a misleading perception had been created that Sindh's farmers were rich. "There are just a few hundred landlords who can afford to move in land cruisers. But if you (Khan) meet majority of the farmers you will find them poor enough to be paid Zakat," he claimed.

Mehmood Nawaz Shah, Dr Zulfiqar Yousfani and other farmers' representatives also attended the meeting.

Earlier, addressing the PTI's women convention, Imran Khan said the Zardari mafia was plundering the resources of Sindh. "Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was a great leader but we will not let Asif Ali Zardari remain alive politically," he declared, adding that Zardari's turn for ouster from the politics was on cards.

He said for the first time Sindh was ready for the political change. Talking to the supporters at the membership camp in Noorani Basti he said he was waiting for the upcoming general elections for last 22 years. "The upcoming match will create a new Pakistan," he assured.

At the membership camp in Hali Road, he asked the people to review that the political parties for which they voted failed to develop Hyderabad and resolve problems of the city and the citizens.

He asked the people to support the PTI in the next elections. Besides Qureshi, Dr Arif Alvi, Haleem Adil Shaikh, Liaquat Jatoi and other party leaders accompanied Khan during the visits.