Sindh CM decries ‘victimisation campaign by NAB’ against Sharjeel Memon

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, being president of provincial chapter of ruling Pakistan People’s Party, has expressed serious concerns over “harassment campaign” being orchestrated by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against former provincial minister Sharjeel Inam Memon and other leaders of the party.

The CM expressed his concern in a statement issued by spokesman for Sindh chapter of ruling PPP on Monday as this was not the first time the leadership of the People’s Party expressed serious concern over what they called victimization on political lines and selective accountability drive being carried out by federal agencies against the former and incumbent ministers belonging to the People’s Party.

The CM in his past statements had said that the federal agencies in their so-called anti-corruption drive had invaded the province while eroding the very concept of provincial autonomy as enshrined in the Constitution.

The handout quoted the CM as saying that NAB had been acting on a specific agenda in order to damage credibility of the party’s leaders by conducting a media trial against them on political lines.

The CM said that Sharjeel Inam Memon was an active member of PPP and also had been discharging duties as central deputy information secretary of the party. “He resigned from his ministry owing to personal reasons as he has gone abroad after getting leave,” he said.   He said that placing his (Sharjeel Memon’s) name on the Exit Control List in the meantime had been done purely on basis of dishonesty and out of political vendetta.

The CM called upon the federal government that it should make NAB refrain from victimizing officers of Sindh government and leaders of ruling PPP.  The false cases and references filed against leaders of the party including Sharjeel Memon should be withdrawn, the CM demanded from the federal government. 

He also urged the federal government that name of Sharjeel Memon should immediately be deleted from the ECL.  It should be recalled here that Sharjeel Memon was stripped of his status as Sindh government’s minister on 2 December 2015 while he had been out of the country for several months. 

A bench of the Sindh High Court, hearing appeals of Memon, was informed last week that an inquiry was being conducted by NAB into corruption to the tune of millions of rupees allegedly done in Sindh Information Department when Sharjeel Memon was Information and Archives minister of the province.    Memon remained Sindh Information and Archives minister till July 2015.