PTI accuses PPP of unruly conduct in District Central public hearing

Two Sindh lawmakers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday claimed that they were subjected to unruly conduct by activists of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) during a Khuli Kachehri (open court) held under the aegis of a provincial minister in District Central to resolve the problems of the locals.

The PTI’s members of the provincial assembly (MPAs) who made the claim of having to bear misconduct by PPP activists are Riaz Hyder and Imran Ali Shah.

They said they had gone to the open court held in the North Nazimabad neighbourhood under the aegis of Sindh Livestock & Fisheries Minister Abdul Bari Pitafi.

The Khuli Kachehri in North Nazimabad was one of the open public sessions being held in different districts of the province and chaired by members of the cabinet to resolve the issues of the residents regarding civic and administrative issues and policing services.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had directed his cabinet members to hold such open courts in different parts of the city for the benefit of the people.

In a statement issued on Saturday, MPA Hyder said that misconduct on the part of the activists of the PPP at the Khuli Kachehri had become intolerable. He said that the minister who was there to chair the proceedings of the session did nothing to control the situation of unruliness and acted as a mere spectator to the sheer rowdy conduct on the part of the activists of the ruling party of the province.

Hyder said that both the policemen as well as the members of the district administration deployed at the open court also failed to pacify the situation.

He said that the PPP should desist from staging the drama of Khuli Kachehris, and it should instead sincerely work to resolve the genuine issues of the masses across the province.

He claimed that Pitafi had failed to bring improvement in the working of the provincial departments under his watch, and he was instead busy in fooling the people of Sindh.

Hyder also claimed that the provincial ministers were behind such shows of rowdy conduct on the part of the ruling party’s activists so that they do not have to face the questions of the people regarding their genuine issues.

The MPA of the PTI said that earlier, activists of the PPP had created a similar unruly scene at one such open public session held in District Korangi.

Govt version

The official version of the North Nazimabad open court, according to a handout issued by the information department, states that Pitafi held a Khuli Kachehri at the Government Boys Secondary Education Centre in Block-F of North Nazimabad near the Dr Ziauddin Hospital under the directives of CM Shah.

Livestock & Fisheries Secretary Kazi Ijaz Mehsar, the District Central deputy commissioner, the District Central SSP and other officers of the department were also present on the occasion.

Pitafi asked the DC to list the names of all the officers present at and absent from the open court. The minister said that such open sessions are being organised all over the province on the specific instructions of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Pitafi said that the officers of all the departments should take immediate steps to address the public’s complaints and issues. A full report of the public issues presented, along with the details, will be sent to the CM to resolve them promptly.

On this occasion, the minister asked about the progress made on the issues raised by the people in the last open court. He said that solving the problems of the people and providing them with facilities is the top priority of the government.