CM Murad Ali Shah can’t even order armed guard for someone’s security: Saeed Ghani

The chief minister of Sindh does not even have the authority to order an armed guard for the security of a high-profile person in the province, claimed Saeed Ghani on Monday.

The education and labour minister told a news conference that the provincial government is helpless in such matters because according to the Supreme Court’s decision, no political or religious leader can be provided security without the recommendation of the apex judiciary’s threat assessment committee.

“We respect the judiciary’s decisions, but at times their judgements cause a lot of problems,” he said, adding that had this committee not been present, Maulana Dr Adil Khan, who was murdered in Karachi along with his driver on Saturday, would have been provided security by the Sindh government within an hour.

Ghani said the committee comprises different individuals and representatives of different institutions, some of whom favour providing security to any high-profile person while the others oppose such a proposal, so the provincial government is unable to immediately provide security to anyone.

He said Dr Khan had never asked for security. “But rather his son had demanded security for his father. I myself was a witness to this conversation.”

The provincial minister paid tribute to the martyred religious scholar, saying that Dr Khan was a positive thinker who had been struggling against those attempting to divide people on sectarian basis.

Ghani demanded that Federal Railways Minister Shaikh Rasheed Ahmed be included in the investigation into Dr Khan’s murder, because a few hours before the assassination, Ahmed had said that an act of terrorism could occur in Karachi. “He should be asked about the sources that informed him about such a threat,” said the education minister, adding that the federal government should take notice of Ahmed’s statement.

He warned that Ahmed and the federal government will be held directly responsible if any act of mischief or terrorism were to take place in the upcoming public meetings of the Pakistan Democratic Movement.

He said that all the leading political and religious parties have been organising massive gatherings, meetings and processions, so the government does not have any valid cause to obstruct the upcoming public meetings of the alliance of the opposition political parties.

Ghani said the prime minister had been telling them to learn about the law, but in the past he himself had publicly threatened the police chief, provoked the masses not to pay their taxes and gas and electricity bills, and also asked overseas Pakistanis to send money home through the illegal Hundi channel.