KHAIRPUR: Estranged Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Syed Ghous Ali Shah, who is a former chief minister of Sindh, on Monday severely criticised his party chief, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, for neglecting Sindh and other smaller provinces of the country.

“I can say this with a firm belief now that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif does not have any interest in Sindh and its issues. The only area of his interest is Punjab,” Mr Shah told the media during his visit to Gambat and Garhi Mori late on Sunday evening.

He highlighted his role and that of his party colleagues belonging to Sindh in organising the party in this province, and recalled that there was no trace of the PML-N in Sindh until he took the office of the provincial chapter.

“Besides setting up party offices in every nook and corner of this province, we created a respectable vote bank stood firm behind the party leadership since then,” Mr Shah said, and regretted that despite this the PML-N chief appeared less interested in the Sindh chapter’s constant calls to pay attention to the province.

A dejected Shah gave no indication of his intention to part ways with the PML-N, saying that he was still with the party and would continue with his relentless efforts to reunite its factions. “I have already held five meetings with PML-Functional leader Pir Pagara and as many with PML-Quaid-i-Azam leader Chau­dhry Shuja’at Hussain. Modalities of a reunification have also been discussed with Hamid Nasir Chattha, Saleem Saifullah, Shaikh Rasheed and other leaders,” he said. However, Mr Shah apprehended that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Raiwind march and related initiatives might cast a deep impact on the prime minister’s political status. “If Mr Sharif feels he is clean in respect of what is being alleged over the Panaka Papers leaks, then he must take all parliamentary parties into confidence to save himself and his government,” Mr Shah said.

The veteran PML-N leader also expressed his belief that terrorism and corruption could be eliminated from the country by the army under the command of General Raheel Sharif.

Published in Dawn September 20th, 2016