Forget about seizing powers, says Murad

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah Monday said his government was willing to work with the federal government to resolve Karachi’s issues but it should do away with its obsession with snatching powers.

“Under no condition, the Sindh government will share its powers with anyone,” Shah said while addressing a press conference in Karachi. Talking about Sunday’s meeting, Shah said his government’s stance was very simple, which was to follow the Constitution. He said the federal government’s failure was affecting all the provinces.

He dispelled rumours that an agreement had been reached between Karachi’s political parties, saying the stakeholders had only talked about constituting a committee on the city’s development issues.

“There was a talk of forming a committee, but there is no agreement yet,” he clarified about a meeting between the MQM-P, PTI and PPP. He said the committee will only have members of the government and not from political parties. “I will always follow theparty policy, which is that everything will be handled according to the law,” he said.

He also hit out at the ruling PTI, saying it was now “anxious” to sit with the Sindh government and talk about Karachi’s problems. The chief minister alleged that the Centre was talking about the issues of Karachi to hide its failures at the international failure, hinting at the foreign minister’s recent statement on Saudi Arabia.

He said the situation of Karachi and other cities had been the same more or less because of the current spell of rains that had hit the country. “The point of sending the NDMA in Karachi was to show that there were more rains,” said CM Murad. The chief minister shared that he had a detailed conversation with the NDMA chairman about the nullahs of the city.

Meanwhile, Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Monday said his party was being pressurised on the 18th Amendment and the NFC but it will not change its stance on such vital issues.

“A psychological game is being played with my family, but we will not change our stance on democratic and human rights. If you want to arrest my entire family, do it but we will not compromise on the economic rights of people and the Constitution of Pakistan,” he said while talking to reporters after the appearance of former president Asif Ali Zardari in an accountability court in Toshakhana case.

“We are being threatened to follow the script and come into line for changes in the 18th Amendment. Changes in NFC and blacks laws be passed but we will not come under pressure on these issues and will not allow anyone to change our stances on the Constitution, 18th Amendment and the NFC Award. Today, all the roads to the NAB court were blocked to stop people from witnessing the injustices meted out to the PPP leadership,” he said. He said even the counsel for Zardari – Advocates Farooq Naik and Sardar Abdul Latif Khosa – were stopped and mishandled by the police. “Several senior lawyers of Supreme Court were also stopped,” he said.

He asked if it was a tactic to pressurize judges or the PPP. ”Is it an independent state? What did they want to hide from the judges of the Supreme Court and the people of Pakistan?” he asked saying the entire Islamabad police was deputed for one court appearance.

Bilawal said it was ironic that one judge of the NAB allowed President Zardari to appear the via video link while the other judge (of the NAB court) ordered him to appear before him in person despite the Covid-19 pandemic. He said when one did not have argument, then they have to rely on abuses and force.

“Today you have witnessed both the things that how they misbehaved with the Supreme Court lawyer. You have also witnessed that how the NAB lawyer who did not have arguments was abusing the fellow lawyer,” he said, adding that if such things happened to them, then the same would also happen to others.

“Today is 17th August and every jiyala remembers this day because this was the last day of dictator Ziaul Haq. It is a historical day for Pakistan and the PPP. Every jiyala remembers August 17 as it was a ‘mango day’ and it was the last day of dictator General Ziaul Haq,” he said.

The PPP chairman said they could ask questions about the incident, as neither investigation nor follow-up was ever made. Bilawal said a puppet was sitting in the Prime Minister’s House and his strings were being handled from somewhere else. To question, he said the PPP always respected courts. The PPP, he said, is still expecting justice from courts in Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s case.

He said a notorious terrorist Ehsanullah Ehsan had escaped detention. “He is the same person who boasted martyring the children of Army Public School (APS) but no court in the country took suo motu notice. If they cannot give justice to the children of APS, then whom they will give justice to,” he said.