PTI leader opposes appointment of Zardari’s brother-in-law as Sindh ombudsman

The leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly, Firdous Shamim Naqvi, who belongs to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), on Friday said they would not accept the appointment of Fazlullah Pechuho, brother-in-law of former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, as the provincial ombudsman because the PPP-led government in Sindh had not consulted the opposition on the provincial ombudsman’s appointment.

“Opposition in the Sindh Assembly would not accept Fazlullah Pechuho as provincial ombudsman as Sindh government has not consulted us in this regard. Brother-in-law of the former president and PPP co-chairman is being named as the provincial ombudsman and the person on this position cannot be investigated by NAB, FIA or any other investigating agency,” Naqvi told a news conference at the Sindh Assembly.

Accompanied by other MPAs of the PTI, including Haleem Adil Shaikh and Sidrah Imran, the Sindh Assembly opposition leader said performance of the Sindh government had been deteriorating with each passing day. He also asked the federal government to immediately remove Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah.

Naqvi said they had written a letter to the Centre for launching an investigation into Sindh ministers Imtiaz Shaikh and Saeed Ghani through the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). He also criticised the provincial government for its undue pressure on the Centre for the removal of Sindh inspector general of police (IGP) and appointment of someone of their choice as the provincial police chief.

He also censured the Sindh government for refusing to consult the Sindh governor on the appointment of the IGP, saying that the governor was a representative of the federation and by refusing to talk to him, the Sindh government had humiliated the governor and the federal authorities.

He maintained that the office of the provincial ombudsman was to get vacant from Monday onwards and the PPP was planning to appoint a controversial person as the provincial ombudsman. He announced that the PTI would strongly oppose the appointment of Pechuho on the position.

“Provincial ombudsman should be a person who should not be controversial and should not have allegations of corruption and embezzlement against him. Similarly, we don’t want a person as Sindh chief secretary who is part of a political party,” Naqvi said and added that after the Sindh police reports against Imtiaz and Ghani, they had asked the federal government to initiate an inquiry against them through the FIA.

On the occasion, Haleem claimed that the Sindh governor could send the provincial government home but added that the current circumstances were not in favour of such a decision.