THATTA: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) parliamentary leader in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh has said that Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who also holds portfolio of finance for the past 13 years, rightly deserves an award for record-breaking corruption under his watch.

More than Rs3 trillion corruption had been committed in pension funds and billions of rupees of taxpayers’ money had already been embezzled by this corrupt coterie ruling Sindh, he said.

He was talking to media persons after offering condolence to family members of a schoolteacher Faheem Ahmed in Narejo Goth on Sunday. The late teacher had received notices from the National Accountability Bureau, asking him to explain existence of huge amount of cash in his bank account in Dadu, he said.

He said the teacher had been under unbearable stress which took heavy toll on his life and he died suddenly. In 2014, Faheem’s father had also died due to similar reasons, he said.

He said that a corrupt coterie was ruling Sindh and the scam of fake bank accounts that they employed to park ill-gotten money was now taking lives of innocent people.

Sheikh said that corrupt mafia had deposited another Rs360 million in fake accounts registered in the name of Faheem’s mother, Hanifa, and his brother as well. The owners of this money were the great thieves in Sindh government, he claimed.

He said that front-men of Murad Ali Shah, including Salim Bajari and Murad Dawach, had looted billions of rupees through fake bank accounts. Massive corruption was made with the help of 84 fake accounts, he said.

He said that this poor schoolteacher was unaware the corrupt mafia had deposited such a huge amount of money in his bank account. A brother of this poor schoolteacher was a security guard, he said.

Sheikh said that many ministers were likely to be changed after Senate election but the most corrupt chief minister of Sindh who had also stuck to portfolio of finance for the past 13 years would stay.

He said the family of the late schoolteacher was innocent and his party would provide them complete legal help. Sindh’s minister for education had confessed three days ago that thousands of government schools remained shut, but he believed, the corrupt mafia was shifting billions of rupees meant for the closed schools to Bilawal House.

He said that government hospitals in Sindh had no medicines for poor patients and ambulance service was not provided to the poor when they asked for it.

Sheikh said that Imran Khan would not offer NRO to the corrupt mafia. The Pakistan Democratic Movement leaders tried to politicise even a human tragedy in Mach but no PDM leader bothered to attend funeral of the terror victims, he said, adding the PDM had already lost its credibility in the eyes of the public.

He urged people of Sindh to raise voice against corruption in the province and said that his party would stage protests against the corrupt rulers of Sindh.

He said that those who had announced tendering resignations were now backpedaling on their claims. The PDM was in reality a movement for “Papa Daddy Maulana Bachao Tehreek” and they would not succeed in hiding their corruption, he said.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2021