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Concerns over minorities protection law to be addressed, says CM

By our correspondents
December 09, 2016

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Thursday said the reservations of all quarters expressing concern regarding the recently passed Sindh Criminal Law (Protection of Minorities) Bill would be addressed.  

While talking to journalists, he said the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) believed in taking care of minorities as they were equal citizens of this country.

The CM has made these remarks as some religious parties have warned of laying siege to the Sindh Assembly building and launching a protest drive if the government does not entertain their contentious demand to withdraw the bill. 

The bill passed by Sindh Assembly has been hailed as a major step towards protecting the rights of religious minorities in the province, particularly against the ever-increasing practice of forced conversion of religion. The conservative religious parties have come out against the law and are relying on their age-old method of declaring the move 'anti-Islamic'.

“The formation of alliances against the PPP is not a new thing. We are not afraid of these alliances because the people of Sindh have always rejected them,” said the chief minister while talking to the media. He was visiting the Lat Basti of Malir area to offer condolences to the family members of senior PPP leader Umer Jat, who passed away recently.

He said the PPP opponents had been rejected by the people of Sindh and they always made desperate attempts at finding ways to fight against the PPP. “But, this is not possible for them because the PPP has the support of people of Sindh, who are the followers of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and workers of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,” he said, adding that, “let the alliances continue with their failed efforts.”

The CM said it was his constitutional right to appoint 18 ministers in the cabinet. “My performance is visible because the media has been kind to me, otherwise all the ministers are hard working,” he said, and added that those who fail to perform would be replaced in consultation with the party leadership.

To a query, he said the chief secretary had not told the Sindh High Court that his (CM’s) advisors had been removed from their posts. “Instead the secretary said the executive powers of the advisors had been withdrawn.”

Syed Murad Ali Shah said the impression was being created that Chinese were being given the contract of garbage lifting in the city. “It was an international tender and whichever won the bid was awarded the work,” he said.

To another query, Murad said he would direct Sind IG Police AD Khowaja to assess the numerical strength of each and every police station working in the city. “The police stations which are short of force will be strengthened by giving them additional force and we are also planning to construct police stations and upgrading residential colonies for the police officials,” he said.

Talking about District Malir, the chief minister said that it was his district and he would start development works in its rural areas. “I am not ignoring any area or district as each and every district, city and village belongs to me and the PPP government will be serve them without any discrimination,” he vowed.