SUKKUR: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that Pakistan Peoples Party believes in dialogue but Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl have their own stance on talks with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and they appear to be right to some extent due to Imran Khan’s manner of politics.

He said while talking to journalists after offering condolence to the party MPA Mir Mumtaz Hussain Jakhrani on his mother’s death in Jacobabad late on Thursday night that no leader of the ruling coalition wished to talk to Imran because of his attitude and destructive politics.

He emphasised the need for political dialogues and recalled that Asif Ali Zardari always kept his door open for talks and he did so even after Benazir Bhutto was martyred and he raised the slogan of Pakistan Khapay.

Zardari went for elections and formed a coalition government through dialogues with political parties in the broader interest of Pakistan. “We do not know about PTI’s stand on general elections but we do not object to it,” said Murad.

He said that he could only wish that PTI was able to make decisions in the interest of the country rather than in their own short-sighted interests such as dissolution of assemblies.

He said that political complications began when Supreme Court gave a decision according to Article 63-A but ordered that vote of party dissidents would not be counted during election for the prime minister and chief minster.

“I feel that the Supreme Court itself should take stock of such mistakes,” said the chief minister and added that no one was ready now to hear their remarks as 18 months had already passed.

He said the constitution was a gift by PPP founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari who restored it to its actual shape as it was their [PPP] duty to protect the constitution.

He said that Justice Qazi Faez Esa had remarked that a wrong judicial decision caused disintegration of Pakistan. “We believe that all political parties should sit together and resolve their issues instead of engaging in reconciliation talks under judiciary’s nudging as such steps sometimes prove harmful,” he said.

Murad said that role and mandate of every institution had been defined in the constitution. Hence, the function of election commissioner was to hold elections and the situation would normalise if the Election Commission of Pakistan was allowed to function accordingly, he said.

“Our jawans have been martyred during police operation against dacoits in riverine areas of upper Sindh,” he said, adding that they had planned to take effective steps to minimize such incidents.

He said that more check-posts would be constructed on embankments in upper Sindh in a bid to stop movement of dacoits and supply of weapons to them. The government would restore peace in the riverine areas by eliminating all dacoits, he said.

Provincial ministers Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Mukesh Kumar Chawla, notables and PPP leaders also accompanied the chief minister.

Earlier, Federal Minister Syed Khurshid Shah, provincial ministers Syed Sardar Ali Shah, Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh, MNA Nawab Wasan, PPP Sindh president Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, PPP Balochistan president Mir Changez Khan Jamali and leaders of various political, social and religious organisations arrived at Jakhrani House to condole with PPP MPA Mir Mumtaz Hussain Jakhrani and Mir Aijaz Jakhrani.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2023