NAWABSHAH: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan said on Thursday that soon enough Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, too, would ask why he was removed, and would be sent to jail for the crimes he committed.

Mr Khan lashed out at the PPP leader in the latter’s hometown of Nawabshah while addressing party workers and supporters at the Press Club Chowk after inaugurating a membership drive as part of a two-day visit to Sindh.

There were two illnesses that plagued Pakistan, he said, one of them was in Punjab (referring to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supreme leader Nawaz Sharif) and the other in Sindh (referring to Mr Zardari). The PTI chief said the leaders of the two parties had been taking turns to run the country to the ground.

PTI chief says state of affairs in Sindh is worse than Balochistan

The state of agriculture in Sindh was deplorable, he said, adding that the province’s agricultural base had been destroyed while poverty had reached an all-time high. He claimed that the state of affairs in Sindh were worse than in Balochistan because the rulers here were busy grabbing land and making money, while depriving growers and the people of their rights. He added that injustice was rampant among the rulers, whereas the people were treated as slaves.

The people here were politically victimised, their water supply was stopped, the poorest of the poor were implicated in false cases by a police force that was used by powerful elements to protect their interests, said the PTI chief.

The people of Sindh must not worry, he assured them, adding that he had launched a movement from Nawabshah to bring about change in the country’s southern province.

The long dark night would come to an end and a new day would bring an end to poor governance by the nation’s rulers, he promised, adding that he would stay in Sindh for the next 48 hours.

Mr Zardari had the same relationship with the Bhutto family as retired Captain Safdar had with the Sharif family, he said, quickly adding that the Sharifs could not match up to the Bhuttos. During his visit to Sanghar, Imran Khan said his party rejected the tax amnesty scheme announced by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Addressing a gathering at a PTI membership camp, Mr Khan said no such scheme had ever been successful in the country, adding that only the corrupt elements became ultimate beneficiary of such schemes.

He announced that if PTI came to power after the general election it would revoke the amnesty scheme.

Housh Muhammad Mangi contributed to this report from Sanghar

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2018