Sir: The people of Sindh went into shock when they heard President Asif Ali Zardari’s remarks at the fifth SAFMA conference in Islamabad. He complained that nationalists were not ready to talk to the government on the new local government system in Sindh as they were getting money from Punjab. The president also claimed that the controversial Zulfikarabad project was in favour of Sindh whereas the nationalists did not want development. First of all, I would like to mention that the government has always claimed that the nationalists have no backing in Sindh because they could not win even a single seat in the previous elections. I am unable to understand that, if this is so, why is the president worried about their protests? President Zardari’s claim that Punjab is financing such a protest movement in Sindh is unacceptable. Regarding the controversial project of Zulfikarabad in Sindh, the President’s claim was incorrect that the opponents of the project were opponents of development in Sindh for the simple reason that a mega project such as Zulfikarabad is bound to bring demographic changes in Sindh, maybe even converting Sindhis into a minority in their own province. It is advised that instead of Zulfikarabad, the president spend the money on fixing and developing the already existing cities in Sindh, which lie underdeveloped and miserable. On behalf of the people of Sindh, I request President Zardari to prioritise Sindh