Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Sunday alleged that the Sindh government was busy "saving corrupt people" despite the fact that the entire province was in a state of unrest.

He was speaking to media representatives in Ghotki district after meeting individuals from various schools of thought, including members of political, religious and traders communities, at the Raja Palace.

"[It is] the process of accountability which will be done with everyone," the governor said, in a reference to the ruling PPP's criticism of corruption investigations against its leaders.

He said Ghotki had a big share in the provincial revenue but the district had received nothing from the government. "Ghotki should have hospitals, colleges and universities," he added.

Fellow Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Haleem Adil Shaikh said Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah should resign from his position on "moral grounds". Shah was recently placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) as part of an investigation into the fake bank accounts case.

He said all constitutional means will be exercised to bring "change" in the Sindh Assembly. "Change will come soon, the party has just started," he added, without elaborating.

Shaikh said the contacts of PPP members with the PTI were increasing day by day and soon some "big good news" would be shared with the public.

MPA Sardar Ali Gohar Mahar, the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) leader who had welcomed Ismail to Ghotki on Saturday, said Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Dr Arif Alvi will also visit the district upon invitation.

He claimed that there was royalty of Rs10.5 billion in Ghotki but because of the government's incorrect policies, citizens could not get relief.

The citizens have not benefited from the 18th Amendment because there are no health or education facilities for them, Mahar added.

On Saturday, Governor Ismail had said that the PPP’s apprehensions about the imposition of governor’s rule on Sindh were unfounded. He was of the view that the party wanted to become “political martyr” but the PTI government would not let it succeed in such efforts.

'Govt efforts to malign PPP leadership a political coup'

In a rejoinder, Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Information, Law and Anti-corruption Murtaza Wahab and Sindh Minister for Works and Services Syed Nasir Hussain Shah at a press conference termed government efforts to what they called "malign" the PPP leadership as a "political coup".

The demanded that if the names of PPP leaders and ministers had been placed on the ECL because they had cases against then "following the same pattern", the names of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak and PTI leader Aleem Khan should also be placed on the no-fly list.

The ministers claimed that the names of even those ministers and political personalities who were "not even mentioned in the JIT [report]" had been added to the ECL by the government.

Wahab rubbished as "mere rumours" reports of a forward bloc being formed within the ruling PPP. "Time has proved that no elected member ever opted to leave the PPP," he stressed.

Govt move for anti-PPP support

In an apparent bid to strengthen the anti-PPP camp in the province, Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry will travel to Sindh on Monday and hold discussions with senior political leaders.

Speaking to Dawn, he said that the prime focus of his visit was to discuss the post-JIT report situation with political leaders of interior Sindh, including Awami Tehreek chief Ayaz Latif Palijo and GDA leaders.

The schedule of the meetings would be made by the Sindh governor.

The Joint Investigation Team report recently submitted to the Supreme Court in the fake accounts case held the top PPP leaders, including Asif Zardari, and the Omni Group of Companies responsible for massive money laundering through fake accounts.

Around 29 bank accounts have been identified as fake which were allegedly used for money laundering of Rs42 billion.

On the basis of the JIT report, the government has placed the names of all 172 persons identified in the report on the ECL.