KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Information, Archives and Labour Saeed Ghani announced on Saturday that under directives of the party chairman, leaders and workers of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would welcome and take part in the Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led ‘Azadi March’, organised by the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), set to begin in Karachi on Sunday [today].

Speaking at a press conference with other party leaders, he said the PPP had already decided to welcome the march wherever it would start. Following that, he said, leaders and the workers of the PPP Karachi division would receive the participants in the ‘Azadi March’.

“After Karachi, the Azadi March will also be received and welcomed by PPP workers and leaders in Jamshoro,” said Mr Ghani, who is president of the party’s Karachi division. “The decision to support the JUI-F march was reached after consensus and due deliberation by the PPP leadership, which firmly believes that this government is solely responsible for the deteriorating social and economic structure of the country.”

He also blamed Prime Minister Imran Khan for the deteriorating health condition of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The minister said that if anything unpleasant happened to former president Asif Ali Zardari or Mr Sharif, the federal government would be held responsible for it.

“Here, I should make it clear that neither Asif Zardari nor Nawaz Sharif are being provided with the necessary facilities in accordance with the prison manual,” he said. “As Faryal Talpur was arrested to pressurise former president Zardari, Maryam Nawaz was arrested to coerce Nawaz Sharif. Imran Khan Niazi has surpassed former dictator Ziaul Haq in carrying [out] vendetta against his political opponents.”

Even the past dictators, he claimed, had not denied the right of political prisoners to have access to necessary health facilities. Mr Ghani said that all the key ministries in the Imran Khan regime had been given to “accomplices” of former dictator retired general Pervez Musharraf.

“It seems as if the heart and soul of Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf have re-emerged in Imran Niazi,” he said. “I have no doubt over the deteriorating health condition of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Nawaz Sharif should be provided with every possible health facility in accordance with the wishes and desires of his family members.”

Answering a question, the provincial minister said that it was the responsibility of every government to provide security to peaceful protests. He said that people could not be stopped from peaceful protests in the name of security.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2019