KARACHI: Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani Thursday said that they would take over Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) if the PTI government rewarded any 'ATM' through privatization. The land on which the PSM had been built was owned by the province, he said and added that they would not allow anyone to grab the land worth thousands of billions of rupees.

"Mafia is eyeing Pakistan Steel Mills," the PPP leader maintained. Ghani said they would take back the land if the state-run enterprise was privatised. Which organisation had been restored during the last two-and-a-half years, Ghani questioned and said that the PTI government did not want to run the PSM.

Decisions could not be taken without taking the provinces into confidence and also made it clear that the decisions being taken by the Centre on Sindh's islands were unconstitutional which would be resisted at every level. "The federal government wants to occupy the islands." Ghani reminded the audience that Asad Umar, a federal cabinet member, had promised that he would leave the ministry if the PSM was privatised and also blasted government allies MQM and GDA.

Why they were silent over throwing away the state assets and making the thousands of people jobless at a time they had representation in the federal cabinet, he remarked. The PPP leader said although they had requested the dismissed PSM workers to postpone their protest due to the problems faced by citizens, the Sindh government could not stop them forever at a time when they were deprived of their livelihood.

Stating that he is trade unionist first, Ghani said he would protest side-by-side along with the dismissed workers. He described privatisation as the biggest robbery in the country's history and said no one had probed the related affairs. Ghani said they were against giving the property rights of state-run enterprises to individuals or groups; however, he made it clear that they were not against handing over management to anyone for improving the affairs of any entity.