Reforms not possible in Sindh unless Zardari, Faryal sentbehind bars: Imran

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday once again bashed the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman, former president Asif Ali Zardari, and his sister Faryal Talpur and demanded their accountability. Imran Khan said that no reforms could be introduced in Sindh until and unless accountability of Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur was carried out, they were arrested and sent behind bars. He said Asif Zardari was the chief of the mafia in Sindh.

Imran Khan called for across-the-board accountability to eradicate terrorism and corruption from the country. "We should not see where the terrorist is coming from. Arrest criminals regardless of which political party and militant organisation they belong to," Imran said while addressing the media in Karachi. "To end terrorism, we need to end corruption."

Expressing his views in a press conference in Karachi, Imran Khan said Sindh cannot make progress until it gets rid of Asif Zardari and his sister. He alleged that Faryal Talpur makes money through corruption and sends it abroad.

The PTI chief maintained that Zardari was Sindh's mafia and Nawaz Sharif was the head of Pakistan's. He said he was now free from the Panama case and would now focus on Sindh. He demanded the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman to take notice of corruption being done in Sindh. He said the Pakistanis have purchased properties worth 8 billion dollars in Dubai adding that the chairman NAB should hold investigations into the matter.

Imran Khan admitted that there was infighting among the party members with regard to the award of tickets for the next year's general elections. He responded to a question by saying it was natural for a growing party to experience infighting. However, he added that once the tickets were finalised, the quarreling will stop.

In response to a question regarding the lessons learnt from the 2013 general elections, Imran said this time around, they would award tickets after a lot of deliberation. He said parliamentary boards had been set up and the first batch of award of tickets will be completed in the next two weeks.

The PTI chairman said that Karachi's local government (LG) system needs to be improved as at present the local representatives had no authority. This is why [Mayor] Waseem Akhtar says he wants Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's LG system, claimed Imran.

Replying to a question, Imran said for terrorism to be eradicated from Pakistan, rampant corruption needs to end first. Talking about his present visit to the province, Imran said he had met politicians, lawyers, members of the business community and party workers. He stated that the PTI's next rally in Sindh will be held on November 5 in Ubaro.

Answering another question about the party's disgruntled member Ayesha Gulalai, Imran said if a party member resigns, then he or she is no longer a member of the party. If reserved seat MNAs behave like this, then it is an outright violation of the law, he said adding that the Election Commission of Pakistan's decision not to disqualify her despite violating PTI's directions will promote horse trading.

 Our correspondent adds from Karachi: Imran Khan said the PML-N government was reminiscent of dictatorship as it amended the Constitution to save the corruption of Sharif family.

Khan was addressing a ceremony organised by the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) at its office in Gulistan-e-Jauhar on Wednesday after his speech to the Insaf Students Federation’s (ISF) convention outside the Karachi University (KU).

“The law was bulldozed in the name of legislation. And shamefully the way was paved for a disqualified person to head a party,” he said, referring to the recently-passed Election Act, 2017 billed by the ruling PML-N in parliament amid an uproar by the opposition.

Khan commented that there were two systems of governance in the world of which one was prevalent in Pakistan while the other was in the developed countries. “The poor countries are facing status quo because of rampant corruption. Besides, unemployment is also a major issue.”

The PTI chairperson claimed that his party wanted to steer Pakistan out of poverty and maintained that with an honest and dedicated leadership, the country could get rid of all of its problems.

Sharing the example of neighbouring China, he said that 30 years ago, its GDP was USD 3 billion and today it had crossed over USD 10 trillion. He said that revolutionary reforms were needed in the country so that low income groups, particularly small-scale farmers, could prosper. 

Particularly mentioning the case of Sindh, he said that unless former president and Pakistan People's Party’s co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and his sister, Faryal Talpur, were put behind the bars, reforms could not take place in the province.

Later at a press conference at PTI leader’s Imran Ismail’s residence, Khan said that Zardari and his group was busy in looting and plundering and they did not care about the deteriorating condition of the people of Sindh. “Accountability should be done across the board,” he added.

About his visit to Sehwan and Karachi, Khan said that he will make more such visits to Sindh to mobilize its people against those who have been ruling over them for decades but yet they are deprived of even basic necessities such as safe drinking water, communication system and others.

“Everyday 480 million gallons of untreated sewage is flowing into the ocean and fresh water reservoirs, thus, making things worse,” he said, adding that a proper local bodies’ system like in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be introduced here if PTI got to make its government. Khan left for Islamabad after concluding his three-day visit to Karachi.