KARACHI: Former speaker of the National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza on Tuesday broke her public silence in a press conference and took the Pakistan Peoples Party government to task for poor governance in Sindh and politicisation of the police force, saying she feared for the life of her embattled husband who has in recent days lost no opportunity to pour scorn on his erstwhile friend and former president Asif Ali Zardari.

Dr Mirza — who told a television anchorman later in the evening that she held the press conference “with a heavy heart” — said to reporters at her Karachi residence that it must be disclosed at whose behest raids were being conducted in Badin.

Also read: Police lay siege to Mirza Farmhouse, withdraw amid street protests

Meanwhile in Badin her husband remained embroiled in a tense stand-off with police who demanded that suspects nominated in FIRs lodged recently and allegedly holed up in the Mirza Farmhouse be handed over to them while Dr Mirza told the media that he feared that he would be gunned down in a police encounter just the way Murtaza Bhutto, brother of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, had been shot dead in mysterious circumstances in 1996.

Take a look: Cases under anti-terror act registered against Zulfiqar Mirza

At the Karachi press conference, the PPP MNA from Badin appeared hurt and angry with her party, but stopped short of lashing out at the party leadership unlike her husband. However, the demands she made during the press conference suggested that she no longer trusted her own government in Sindh.

“I am unable to understand what’s going on as despite the protective bail granted by the Sindh High Court to Dr Zulfikar Mirza, the Mirza Farmhouse has been under a police siege,” she said. “I demand that the chief justice of Pakistan and the SHC take notice of this. The situation is turning from bad to worse with every passing moment.”

She feared for husband’s life and demanded that “apolitical officers” be selected to handle the situation. “Is it unjustified to ask for a neutral SP?” she asked.

She said that the Sindh police had become “highly politicised” and asked the federal government to appoint a “strong and competent inspector general for the province”.

“It must be disclosed that at whose behest raids are being conducted in Badin,” she said. “It’s the responsibility of the Sindh government to find out the truth and make it public. The people of Badin are forced to live under siege as they have been deprived of water, food and every basic facility of life.”

She termed the situation in Badin worse than that of 1997 when the then government was pursuing “false corruption cases against the Mirza family” and forced their workers and supporters to go into hiding.

“We [the Mirza family] are not being provided adequate security despite serious threats,” she said. “Everyone should know that whatever the objective of this entire situation is, the repercussions of this exercise would not only affect Sindh. It would have a national level impact.”

The former speaker announced that she was heading for Badin despite security threats, saying she should be with her people at this time.

She demanded an end to the operation-like situation in her hometown.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2015

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