‘Three arrested friends of Zardari should be presented in courts’

ISLAMABAD: Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah said on Saturday three close aides of former president Asif Ali Zardari, who have been arrested, should be presented in the courts within the next 24 hours.

"If you want to arrest people for being Zardari’s friends, then you should arrest me too, I can also tell you a lot," he said while talking to media persons here at his residence in the Ministers’ Enclave. He said the arrested people included Zardari’s manager Ghulam Qadir Marri and Nawab Leghari.

He said the Sindh government has legal powers for the appointment of inspector general of police (IGP) of its choice.

"The federal government appointed five inspector generals of Islamabad Police and three secretaries of the Interior Ministry and in the same fashion the Sindh government also has the right to appoint the police chief of its choice," he said.

He said after explosion in Lahore, the Operation Raddul Fasaad was launched, the Rangers were given special powers, but the National Action Plan (NAP) was not fully implemented. “No matter how much the government speaks, no difference comes from just speaking," he added.

The opposition leader said the Muslims all over in the world and also in the Middle Eastern countries were being victimised and there was a need to get united against these atrocities. He said the government had failed to play its due role to unite the Muslim Ummah. “Saudi Arabia should come forward to end the differences between Muslims across the globe,” he remarked.

He said that Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto played a vital role in bringing the Muslim Ummah on a single platform and it is the responsibility of every Muslim to play his role for strengthening Islam. He said the rulers have played with the emotions of the people and before elections, the PML-N promised the people that it will provide electricity to everyone, but now the country was still facing a shortfall of 5,000MW.

The opposition leader said progress never comes by just making motorways or orange trains, rather it requires improving financial condition of the people. "The rulers promised that they will build motorways and highways in Sindh. Sadly, the highway here was converted into a motorway,” he remarked.

In reply to a question regarding the awaited verdict on the Panama case, the opposition leader said the verdict is yet to be announced and he hoped "the God gives the strength to make the right decision."

He said the government during the dharna days wanted to prorogue the National Assembly session but he advised the government to summon the joint sitting of parliament.