PTI MPA accuses Sindh govt of providing benefit to high-profile suspects through weak prosecution

The allegation that the Sindh government deliberately provided weak prosecution to benefit high-profile criminals in the province, including Lyari gang war leader Uzair Jan Baloch, was echoed in the Sindh Assembly on Thursday when an opposition legislator termed the recent acquittal of Uzair in some cases a failure of the provincial government.

A call-attention notice was moved by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Arsalan Taj, in which he mentioned the recent acquittal of Uzair in different criminal cases and termed it a failure of the Sindh government’s department of criminal prosecution.

He also mentioned a reported statement of the Sindh prosecutor general in 2018, according to which several thousands of criminal cases had come to an end due to a weak prosecution. Taj alleged that a similar weak case had been prepared against Uzair in order to facilitate his acquittal. He added that witnesses in the case against notorious former police officer Rao Anwar had also been frightened.

The PTI MPA said all these cases lent credence to the suspicion that someone had acted behind the scenes to extend undue benefit to the high-profile suspects. He alleged that such weak prosecution was a deliberate act at the behest of some influential person.

Responding to the call-attention notice in the house, Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh stated that opposition legislators were in the habit of deliberately politicising every issue. He said it was wrong to assume that quashing of every criminal case occurred due to weak prosecution.

He said that a criminal case was based on the first information report lodged by the police, its proceedings depended upon the deposition by the witnesses and the judgment in the case was pronounced by the judges.

Responding to another call-attention notice, the energy minister informed the House that the Sindh government was willing to take over the two power distribution companies in the province — Hyderabad Electric Supply Company and Sukkur Electric Power Company — to provide due relief to the power consumers who had to face prolonged power failures.

He said the federal government had been delaying notifying the power tariff of five new wind power projects in the wind corridor of Sindh and he had sent a letter to the federal government on the matter.

Meanwhile, Sindh Agriculture Minister Ismail Rahoo informed the Sindh Assembly that a proposal was under consideration to establish a separate police station to secure the premises of the wholesale fruit and vegetable market of Karachi.

Responding to the queries of the concerned lawmakers during the question hour of the session, the agriculture minister said that security concerns did exist concerning the fruit and vegetable market of Karachi as it received agricultural produce from all over the country.

He added that a committee was there to look after the sanitation affairs of the fruit and vegetable market and the same committee awarded the contracts for the purpose.