KARACHI: Chief Minister (CM) Sindh Murad Ali Shah urged the federal government to convene meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI). As per details, the Sindh CM said that Article 154 (3) made it mandatory for the federal government to summon the CCI meeting within 90 days however no meeting has been summoned in last nine months.

He maintained that as per the constitution three sessions should have been summoned by now (after nine months). Yesterday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has demanded in a letter that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif should summon an immediate session of the Council of Common Interest (CCI).

“Provinces currently grappling with scores of economic and other internal problems, which required convening a meeting of the CCI, “ KP chief minister wrote in a letter addressed to the prime minister.

He said the CCI session will help to settle scores of mutual issues among the federal government and provinces. “Convening a session of the CCI within 90 days period, has been mandatory under Article 154,” the letter read. “Previous session of the Council of Common Interest was held in January this year,” KP chief minister pointed out in his letter.

It’s worth mentioning here that PPP-led Sindh government and the Centre are currently at odds as Bilawal Bhutto Zardari yesterday declined a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, requested by the federal government following his criticism.

Bilawal said that his refusal was not based on personal issues with government but stemmed from the concerns of his voters and provincial governments. He emphasized that the PPP had grievances with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) over its handling of administrative matters in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

Bilawal also raised concerns over the federal government’s approach towards the development plans in Sindh and Baluchistan, highlighting the PPP’s reservations over the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in these provinces.

Published in The Daily National Courier, November, 21 2024

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