Centre should not act like ‘East India Company', says Sindh CM

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah criticised the federal government for treating the province with bias and not offering it a fair share in development grants.

He asked the federal government to reconsider the proposed funding schemes, as they do not serve the interests of Sindh's people.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi on Tuesday, he said that the “federation releases more funds for Punjab than Sindh which is equal to treating the province with bias.”

Explaining his decision to write letters to Prime Minister Imran Khan, he said he had done it because of the lack of cooperation from institutions under the federal government.

“When I first wrote a letter to the prime minister, a federal minister contacted me and asked for a meeting," he said. "I told him to do your work as that is more important."

He strongly criticised the proposed Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), saying that the federal government did not consult with the province before putting its projects in the PSDP.

He also objected to the amount of money allocated for development projects in Sindh, saying that only said only six schemes with a total allocation of Rs5,069.14 million were proposed in 2021. In contrast, the number of schemes in 2017-18 was 27 with a total allocation of Rs23,387.21m.

He warned the federal government not to act like the ‘East India Company’ as such a treatment would not be tolerated.

On Saturday, Murad had written a strongly-worded letter to the prime minister, stating his government’s grievances.