BADIN: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah has asked the federal government not to interfere in the affairs of Sindh, warning that if any harm came to democracy, the responsibility would rest on the Centre.

He was speaking at a ceremony held in Matli town on Friday to observe the 23th death anniversary of former Sindh minister Dr Mohammad Ismail Odhejo, who was among the several people killed in a road accident while on their way to Islamabad to take part in a long march held as part of the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy, led by Pakistan Peoples Party leader Benazir Bhutto, in 1993.

Mr Shah also spoke to the media at the venue of the ceremony.

“The federal government is unnecessarily interfering over the issue of Rangers powers and their stay in Sindh,” he said, and observed that the Sindh government was making sincere efforts for lasting peace in the province but some people within the federal government were putting hurdles in its way.

“Resorting to illegal tactics and disregarding constitutional values would tarnish the image of democracy,” he cautioned.

He insisted that the law and order in the interior of Sindh was fully under control of police and, as such, the Sindh government did not need to seek Rangers’ assistance. Khurshid Shah also severely criticised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over his handling of the Panama Papers leaks issue and “neglect of smaller provinces. He observed that eight meetings of the joint committee on the matter had been held so far but without any headway on terms of reference for a commission of inquiry. He said the joint opposition would soon present its own recommendations in the parliament.

He said that the joint opposition had nothing to do with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s plan for street protests against the federal government.

‘Neglect of smaller provinces’

He also alleged that Mr Sharif was focusing on Lahore alone and totally neglecting Sindh, Balochis­tan, and Khyber Pakhtunkwa, as well as the Seraeki belt. The sense of deprivation in the people of the neglected areas was deepening, he observed, and warned that by pursuing such a policy, the prime minister was jeopardising the federation and democracy.

The senior PPP leader claimed that in her life, Benazir Bhutto tried her best to change Mr Sharif’s mindset that had instilled in him during his association with [1977 military coup leader] General Ziaul Haq but he [Mr Sharif] had now reverted to the same mindset and inclined to opting for the ‘Jaag Punjabi Jag’ nomenclature.” If Mr Sharif did not restrain himself from such things, he is very likely to cause his own downfall and his government’s as well,” Mr Shah apprehended.

However, he expressed his confidence that the PPP would be able to protect democracy, saying that it had always stood against military coups and steered the country out of crises with the support of masses.

He caution the prime minister that some of his inept associates responsible for the bad governance were inviting a military takeover. “And if this happened, it will be disastrous for the country,” he added.

Mr Shah, referring to the PML-N jubilations over its victory in the Thursday’s Azad Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly elections, said it [the victory] did not have any significance as a majority of the AJK people mostly voted for the party which ruled over the country at the time of the polls.

At the ceremony, Khurshid Shah, Minister for Environment Dr Sikandar Mandhro, MPA Basheer Halepoto, Nadir Hussain Khowaja, Saleem Yousif Odhejo,

Tanzeela Qambrani, Dr Aziz Memon and others paid homage to Dr Ismail Odhejo and other PPP activists who had lost their lives in the 1993 accident.

‘Protest a last resort’

HYDERABAD: Speaking to the media at a reception hosted in his honour by MPA Syed Aijaz Bukhari in Tando Mohammed Khan on Friday, Syed Khurshid Shah said that the prime minister had not shown seriousness over the Panama Leaks issue.

If the [PML-N] government did not give a serious thought to the opposition’s proposals and if the issue could not be resolved within the parliament, the joint opposition could take a decision regarding a protest as a last resort, he said.

However, he said, if any harm came to democracy in that case, the responsibility would rest on the government.

In reply to a question, Mr Shah said that no decision about appointment of new members of the Election Commission of Pakistan was taken as yet but consultations between the government and opposition were under way.

He said that the names proposed by the two sides would be sent to a bipartisan parliamentary committee and then presented in the parliament for an approval.

Mr Shah said that the government should not obstruct the process of census, which was linked with the country’s progress, and announce a schedule at the earliest.

He said the opposition would play its parliamentary role in the holding of the census.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2016