LARKANA: Sindh Minister for Works, Services and Prisons Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has deplored that Pakistan Peoples Party leadership is being blamed unfairly for the fake bank accounts opened in the names of students and poor vendors and asked the Federal Investigating Agency why is it not probing such accounts.

Mr Shah said at a press conference at Larkana Press club on Saturday that the ‘clean’ leadership of the party had been implicated in cases based on unfounded charges. The party head Asif Ali Zardari had remained incarcerated in jail for 11 years but no institution could prove anything against him, he said.

He criticised Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government and said that it was beating the drum that it would not offer NRO to any corrupt politician and that the government was carrying out ruthless accountability but in reality such statements were aimed at diverting peoples’ attention from genuine issues. “The fact is the present rulers are not in a position to offer NRO as it raises the question, can they dictate Supreme Court and JITs as well,” he said.

He said the PTI government had taken over 100 U-turns even before completion of its 100 days in power. Those who had talked about tsunami of change had brought in a tsunami of price hike and forced people to pay unbearably inflated bills of electricity, gas and other essential commodities, he said.

He said the PPP leadership had a history of facing cases. The PTI-led government had trained all its guns being held by National Accountability Bureau at PPP and PML-N and it appeared as if the Article 24 of NAB was exclusively formulated for the two parties.

Mr Shah said that 70 per cent people the PTI had taken in its fold were those whom it had been branding as dacoits in past. “Have they become clean after getting into PTI,” he asked.

He accused Imran Khan’s sister Alima Khan of whitening huge amounts of money by paying a nominal fine.

He said the governor’s office was ceremonial which only served as a bridge between federal and provincial governments but Sindh governor was trying to turn his position into a political one. He had better restrict himself to his constitutional role, advised Mr Shah.

He said the PPP government in Sindh had carried out development works on a massive scale but conceded at the same time that it still left much to be desired. “This time you will feel real change and see development works being carried out at an accelerated pace throughout the province,” he said.

The minister who also held portfolio of prisons said the government was working on a new law for prisons. In past, even terrorists were released on parole taking advantage of loopholes in the existing law but this weakness would now be removed once and for all and prisoners would obtain parole only on the basis of merit.

He admitted a culture of corruption in jails and assured that things would improve over time.

Earlier, the minister along with MNA Khursheed Junejo and local party leaders visited Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto where they offered fateha and laid wreaths on Bhuttos’ graves.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2018