No pressure to remove ministers, claims CM

Karachi
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah claimed on Thursday that his government was under no sort of pressure from any quarters to remove certain ministers.
In a statement issued on Thursday, he rubbished the prevailing notion that his government was under political pressure for the removal of certain ministers. "This is not true. I'm the head of the provincial government and it is my prerogative to appoint or remove any minister(s)," he said. “No dictation will be accepted on this issue.”
The chief minister said he was monitoring the performance of each department and also the ministers. “I am committed to improve governance in the province and will not tolerate corruption,” he said.
In the statement, he remarked that Sindh was being portrayed as a corrupt province. “But this conspiracy will not succeed. We have served the people and will be serving them,” he said, adding that the he had activated the Anti-corruption Establishment and it was round the clock.
Talking about the law and order situation, the chief minister said it was due to his commitment that the Sindh Police, Rangers and intelligence agencies had worked together selflessly. "I have given them full support and the political will is behind the good results,” he said.
In his view it was a result of clean politics in Sindh that the urban-rural divide had been bridged. "My politics has bridges the divide between rural and urban Sindh,” he said. “We have also developed sectarian harmony in the province.”
He claimed that he was in no need of commendation for his efforts but the outcome of his “outcome of my sincere and serious services” would be seen by all in the form of upcoming local bodies election.

PPP berates NAB
PPP Karachi Division President Syed Najmi Alam to a press conference that before taking action in Sindh, the National Accountability Bureau should also act against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Federal Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar in accordance with its own list submitted to the Supreme Court of people tainted by corruption charges.
The PPP was against corruption but the federal government of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz should refrain from taking vengeful acts under the pretext of an accountability drive, he said.
Alam added that PML-N believed “in vengeful politics instead of clean politics”, and that was why NAB and the Federal Investigation Agency had been interfering in the affairs of the Sindh government.
People associated with the PPP were being targeted and false cases registered against them, he said.
The PPP leader said acts of vengeance by the federal government should be stopped at once; otherwise, his party reserved the right to do agitation on a full-scale basis.

Hazara Colony issue
The PPP leader criticised PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique, saying that efforts were being made by the railways authorities to demolish Hazara Railway Colony in Karachi near Kala Pul and Korangi Road.
He said efforts to demolish Hazara Colony were being made though the Sindh government had leased out its land to residents of the colony, while Yousuf Raza Gilani, being the concerned federal minister in the first government of prime minister Benazir Bhutto, had given a no-objection certificate to this effect.
In case the railways tried to demolish the colony, then Khawaja Saad Rafique would be responsible for the deterioration of the situation, he said.
Alam added that the PPP and the public would resist any move to demolish the colony.
“Khawaja Saad Rafique should be aware that this is Sindh not Punjab as the People’s Party here is the political force representing the masses and people would not be rendered homeless as long as we were here,” he said.