CM’s statement on islands welcomed

Sindhi Press Digest
March 07, 2007

By Sohail Sangi

Major Sindhi newspapers have welcomed the recent statement of the Sindh chief minister that no construction would be allowed on the islands of Dangi and Bhandal as they belong to Sindh.

The daily Tameer-i-Sindh writes that the committee set up by the prime minister to determine the legal status of the two islands has remained dormant.The paper deplores the federal government’s ‘indifference’ to Sindh’s reservations, expressing a fear that the centre wants to occupy these islands at any cost.The paper regrets that the present rulers are ‘no different from their predecessors’ in that faint protests by the smaller federating units ‘leave them unmoved’.

Daily Awami Awaz editorialises on a speech of President Pervez Musharraf in which he claims that ‘a record development’ is taking place in Balochistan and that those dreaming of an independent Balochistan are living in a fool’s paradise.The daily terms the president’s statement one-sided, saying that Baloch nationalists contend that a progress in which the Baloch have no share is meaningless.The Awami Awaz writes that the Baloch nationalists’ grievances could be resolved within a ‘legal framework’. The daily reminds the government that had it been running the affairs of the state `democratically and politically’, no complaints would be there.The daily says no project should be executed without consulting the local populace so as to preclude fears and misgivings.
The Kawish and Ibrat hail the Sindh cabinet’s decision to raise wages of doctors and nurses working in rural areas.The Ibrat says that doctors’ refusal to work in villages should not be put down to money matters alone. There are a number of other factors, too. Foremost among them is lawlessness, the paper says.

In another editorial, Daily Ibrat opposes the Sindh cabinet’s decision to set aside 0,000 acres of land for establishing an industrial zone in Karachi. The daily argues industrial zones should be set up in small towns and villages as Karachi is already groaning under the weight of a burgeoning population.

The Sindhi press criticises with one voice the administration over its handling of the tribal clash between two groups of Marfanis in Garhi Yasin, Shikarpur, accusing the police of negligence.

Daily Koshish ridicules the Shikarpur DPO’s explanation that police have no resources to stop tribal feuds, saying this is a lame excuse.The paper wonders that when warring groups can settle disputes at jirgas, why they do not resolve matters before they get out of hand.

Daily Kawish, commenting on the pitiable state of heritage sites, says all resolutions on the part of officials have turned out to be nothing but hollow words. The paper calls for urgent measures to arrest the vandalisation of the Hyderabad Fort.