UMERKOT: Pir Sadruddin Shah, chief of Pakistan Muslim League-Functional and head of anti-PPP Grand Democratic Alliance has said that PPP leaders are a pack of looters who have encroached upon lands, factories and even water and a movement is the need of the hour to get rid of them.

He said at a big public meeting of the alliance at Marvi ground on Saturday that people must join the movement to rid Sindh of corrupt rulers. Many countries of the world had made astounding progress but Sindh was still facing abject poverty despite being rich in resources, he said.

Qaumi Awami Tehreek chief Ayaz Latif Palijo said that Sindh was rich in natural resources like oil, gas, coal, china clay and granite but its people were compelled to sell their kids to make both ends meet.

He said that law and order situation was deplorable. Only cases had been registered against corrupt ministers but none had been arrested and convicted so far, he said and made an appeal to rulers to stop befooling people.

Former PPP leader Dr Zulfikar Mirza said that he knew PPP leaders and their intentions like a birth attendant knew a newborn and its mother.

He said that PPP head Asif Ali Zardari and Altaf Hussain were both two sides of the same coin. “Where has Pir Mazhar escaped, who sold 30,000 jobs to the poor people, who put at stake entire savings of the family to buy job orders, which turned out to be fake. Where has Sharjeel Memon gone and how he managed to elude the long arms of law, why they have been allowed to go scot free,” he asked.

Former Sindh chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim said that Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah was a drug which was well past its expiry date and could no longer cure the ailing systems of Sindh.

He said that thanks to large-scale rigging, the PPP swept local government elections and general elections but the party no longer ruled peoples’ hearts. There were four cases of murders and 13 of corruption charges against Zardari and Pakistan Steel Mills was facing bankruptcy because of PPP policies, he said.

Mumtaz Ali Bhutto said that corruption cases should also be sent to Army courts and punishment for the corruption case should be death penalty.

He demanded governor rule in Sindh because PPP’s flawed policies had put future and stability of the province at stake. PIA had been destroyed as they had recruited 400 employees per plane, he said.

PML-N leader and former Sindh chief minister Syed Ghous Ali Shah said that Sindhis had always waged wars against injustices. If justice was not done to Sindh, it would be difficult to save Pakistan, he said.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2016