Shibli demands Haleem Adil’s release

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz alleged on Monday that the Sindh government had arrested opposition leader in the provincial assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh on political grounds to victimise him for exposing its corruption and inefficiency.

Addressing a press conference here, he demanded immediate release of Sheikh, alleging his arrest was also an effort to influence the upcoming Senate elections.

Faraz said former president Asif Zardari used to claim that there were no political prisoners during the Pakistan Peoples Party’s rule, but this was the worst example of political victimisation. He further alleged that the main opposition parties had the network of criminals which they use for both business interests and politics.

He said that in the recent Tharparkar by-elections, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers were harassed and intimidated by misusing the government institutions.“The plight of Sindh is a proof of inefficiency and corruption of the provincial government and Sheikh is the person who has been exposing its corruption,” he said.

“If an elected member and opposition leader is not safe in Sindh, one can image how would be the situation with a common man,” he added. “Despite having no majority, the PPP is claiming that its candidate will win which, in a sense, is confession of indulgence in horse trading.”

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had the principled stance for the past over two decades that neither the economy nor democracy or society’s ethical values could improve without ending the role of money in politics. Politics of bullying, violence and terrorism could not be called democracy, he remarked.

The minister said that the government was standing firm on its stance of transparency in electoral process to ensure that fruits of democracy should reach the common man. “This is a contest between transparency and the forces of darkness as PM Khan wanted transparency and fairness, whereas his opponents comprising Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) represent the corridor of darkness, corruption and horse trading and time has come to defeat this mentality,” he said.

Replying to the questions of the media persons, the minister said PTI did not believe in give and take in politics and when the opposition parties were asked to explain the sources of their assets, they cry foul and claim they were being victimised.

The minister claimed that PTI’s performance had improved in the by-elections and in the constituency of Wazirabad that it lost with narrow margin, adding PTI would accept the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan on the Daska constituency..