PPP has always championed cause of freedom of expression, says Sharjeel

HYDERABAD: Among various political organisations in the country, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stands out when it comes to championing the cause of freedom of expression.

Sindh Senior Minister for Information, Transport, Excise and Narcotics Control Sharjeel Inam Memon said this on Monday as he spoke as the chief guest at a ceremony organised by the Hyderabad Union of Journalists at the Hyderabad Press Club to distribute health cards among journalists.

He said PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had stressed the need for brining all stakeholders together for a collaborative approach to address the pressing national issues. Memon said President Asif Ali Zardari had issued stringent directives against drugs, street crime, lawlessness in the Kutcha areas and land grabbing, and the Sindh government was complying with his instructions.

He remarked that the weakest democracy was far superior to the strongest dictatorship. He added that all the challenges of the country would eventually dissipate if democracy thrived. In response to a question, he said it was easy to criticise the police, but the fact was that there were both good and bad individuals in every institution. The police force was performing admirably but there was always room for improvement everywhere, the information minister stated.

To a question about the Peoples Bus Service, he said the service was currently operational in Karachi, Larkana, Sukkur, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas, but President Zardari and Bilawal wanted it to be extended to other districts and tehsils.

Memon said that the PPP unconditionally supported the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in the federal government for the survival of democracy because if a government had not been formed in the Centre, a caretaker government would have been formed that might have lasted for many years.

He alleged that some foreign powers were still supporting Imran Khan. He added that while some people called Imran their red line, the PPP’s red line was Pakistan. The information minister remarked that serving the media had been a top priority of the PPP. He recalled that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto fought for press freedom during the reign of dictators.

Memon asserted that despite facing severe criticism, campaigns and attempts to tarnish its image, the PPP and its leadership consistently showed tolerance and respected press freedom. He said he was delighted as he had been asked to distribute health cards among journalists. The PPP had been responsible for numerous historic achievements in the country as it provided the constitution, established the nuclear force and advanced missile technology, Memon remarked. He also named the 18th Amendment a historic achievement of the PPP along with the role the party played to rename the North West Frontier Province as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The information minister said that during historic floods in Sindh, millions of people were rendered homeless, and in response, the PPP initiated construction of 2.1 million houses in the affected regions.

He maintained that the hospitals in Sindh were unparalleled in Pakistan as people from other provinces, as well as from Iran and Afghanistan, came to the province for medical treatment. Memon also announced that he would ask the chief minister to enhance the grants for journalists. “I assure the journalists of Hyderabad that their grants will be augmented,” he said.

He vowed that even if a journalist required medical treatment in the United States, the Sindh government would cover the expenses. He said that restoring the country's economy was the greatest challenge currently, and it demanded collective efforts. Bringing more people into the tax network was crucial for progress, he added.