BADIN: Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Sindh government are absolutely neutral in the NA-246 Karachi by-election. He said he was fully satisfied with the ongoing Rangers-led operation against terrorists and criminals in Karachi. It was not targeted against any particular political party, he added.

Mr Shah was speaking at a public meeting and later to the media at the Badin Gymkhana ground on Saturday. He said his government would continue to fully support the operation being carried out by the Rangers successfully.

He said there was no no threat to his government although anti-democracy forces were constantly hatching conspiracies against it.

Mr Shah held out the assurance that a hospital equipped with all modern facilities would be built in Badin district at a cost of Rs700 million soon while development work for the establishment of a cadet college would also be started soon.

He said his government was fully committed to serve the the people of Sindh by providing them employment opportunities and all essential facilities at their doorsteps. He said the PPP government had already established nine universities offering quality education at a very low cost.

He also vowed to continue to assert Sindh’s right to gas royalty and strongly resist the federal government’s moves to sell away the Pakistan Steel Mills, which he said was a gift given to the people of Sindh by PPP founder chairman Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Dr Mirza’s tirade slammed

CM Shah severally criticised former home minister Dr Zulfikar Ali Mirza for continuously using offensive language against PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari. “Dr Mirza was a nonentity when Mr Zardari brought him to the limelight to help him earn name and fame,” Mr Shah said, adding that Mr Zardari was a politician of high stature with a great vision who [as the head of state] steered the country out of various political and other crises.

The chief minister also criticised some “hired TV anchors” for hatching conspiracies against the PPP, its chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

MNA Sardar Kamal Khan Chang, speaking at the public meeting, also lashed out at Dr Mirza and warned him to stop maligning the PPP leadership and humiliating the people of Badin. He noted that Dr Mirza was openly supporting PML-N candidate Ismail Rahu in the PS-59 Badin re-election. But the PPP candidate, Nawaz Chandio, would easily defeat his rival despite Dr Mirza’s anti-PPP campaign, he said.

Sardar Chang there was no justification for retaining MNA Dr Fehmida Mirza and MPA Barrister Husnain Mirza despite Dr Zulfikar Mirza’s repeated tirade and urged the PPP leadership to unseat them.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sikander Mandhro also alleged that the Mirza family had always created problems for PPP ticket-holders in the past. Dr Mandhro said he had great respect for his rival in PS-58 Taj Mohammad Mallah, who had secured 27,400 votes against his 33,707 votes in the previous general elections.

Mr Mallah along with a local businessman community leader Imtiaz Ahmed Memon announced their rejoining of the PPP, and said that they had left the party in 1990 because of Dr Mirza’s hostile attitude.

The chief minister and other PPP leaders including Mr Mandhro, Sardar Chang, Mir Allah Bukhsh Talpur, Bashir Ahmed Halepoto and Mohammad Nawaz Chandio welcomed them to the party fold.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2015

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