Haleem Adil Sheikh takes charge as opposition leader in PA

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) central vice-president Haleem Adil Sheikh took charge as leader of opposition in the Sindh Assembly on Tuesday.

Sheikh has replaced another leader of his party, Firdous Shahim Naqvi, and praised his predecessor’s services for the party. The two visited the office of the opposition leader together, where Sheikh formally took over his responsibilities.

He thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan and other leaders of his party for reposing confidence in him. He also thanked allied parties for their support. “I would prove myself to be not only the voice of the opposition but also the voice of Sindh.”

Sheikh said that during the last 13 years of the Pakistan Peoples Party’s provincial government, the basic problems of the province had not been resolved. “Progress is made only in corruption and the amassing of assets by PPP leaders,” he alleged.

He said Naqvi was an old companion of Khan, and he would get a responsibility in the Centre soon. “I would take guidance from Naqvi and we will jointly expose corruption in Sindh,” he said.

Naqvi had tendered his resignation from the post of the opposition leader earlier this month. Party sources said a group of PTI MPAs had complained to central leaders, particularly Prime Minister Imran Khan, against Naqvi about his harsh attitude towards them.

“A group of the party’s MPAs had complained to Prime Minister Khan that it was difficult for them to work under Naqvi’s leadership in the provincial assembly,” an MPA told The News. Some analysts are linking the replacement of the opposition leader in the provincial assembly with Naqvi’s statements in September, when he had criticised the federal government for playing no role in resolving the city’s ongoing electricity and gas crises.

Naqvi was quoted as saying that “he would ensure Prime Minister Imran Khan, Energy Minister Omar Ayub and the prime minister’s assistant on petroleum, Nadeem Babar, felt ashamed that Karachi was facing a crisis of gas shortage.”