DADU: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that policy of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government to victimise politicians by sending leaders of opposition parties to jail is aimed at diverting public attention from serious internal and external issues.

“This policy is bound to create social and political unrest and is detrimental to national unity and cohesion, which is badly needed at this point in time,” he said.

The chief minister was speaking to media persons after attending soyem of the mother of PPP leader Malik Asad Sikandar at the latter’s native village, Thano Ahmed Khan, in Jamshoro district on Saturday.

Even when Asif Zardari was cooperating with National Accountability Bureau and appearing regularly in courts to face cases against him, he was put behind bars. His arrest was unjustified and unreasonable and it proved PTI government just wanted to get rid of him because it was afraid of him, he claimed.

He said in answer to a question about Federal Minister Faisal Vawda’s statement, advocating arrest of over 500 opposition leaders, that media should not take him seriously. “Let him release his frustration,” he added in a jocular tone.

Mr Shah said that PTI ministers were in the habit of issuing irresponsible and baseless statements just to attract public attention but people had now known them well.

He said the country was passing through a very critical phase and two issues were increasingly becoming serious by each day. The first and the foremost was price hike which had badly affected peoples’ purchasing power and the other was Kashmir, he said.

He said that as Indian atrocities were increasing in Kashmir the nation needed to stand united during this crucial phase. The PTI government had failed completely to rule the country and control rising inflation, he added.

Governor invites CM to meet prime minister

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, who was also at the soyem of Malik Asad’s mother, told journalists while standing beside the chief minister that he had always desired Mr Shah should meet Prime Minister Imran Khan during his Karachi visits.

He said that Imran Khan was the prime minister of Sindh chief minister also. Their doors were always open for Mr Shah and they would welcome him, he said.

He said the nation was in the best possible shape at the moment as foreign reserves had increased and trade deficit had decreased.

The governor said that Pakistan had successfully disseminated the Kashmir issue all over the world and the country’s foreign policy was going in the right direction.

He said in answer to a question that they all had to get united and show unity to the world on the issue of Kashmir. PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and co-chairman Asif Zardari had talked openly in National Assembly about creating unity on Kashmir, he said.

He admitted that increasing inflation was a serious issue as the poor were more affected by it. Whatever reasons were behind the increasing inflation, it should be resolved immediately, he said.

The governor was accompanied by PTI Sindh president Haleem Adil Sheikh, MPA Rabistan Khan and others while the chief minister had come along with provincial ministers Mukesh Kumar Chawla, Syed Nasir Hussain Shan, MPAs Sharjeel Memon, Qasim Naveed and others.

Earlier, a delegation of Sindh United Party led by the party chairman Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah and SUP general secretary Roshan Ali Buriro also arrived at Thano Ahmed Khan and condoled with Malik Asad on the death of his mother.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2019