‘PM to meet key PTI Sindh leaders again to strengthen party’

KARACHI: Haleem Adil Sheikh has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan will likely hold another meeting with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) key Sindh leaders in a few days to make some important decisions to strengthen the party in the province.

“PTI Sindh leaders met the PM a few days ago and informed him about the situation of the province, and we’re meeting him again to request him to make important decisions with strong actions,” said Sheikh, provincial assembly opposition leader, while addressing a news conference at his residence in Karachi.

Sheikh, who is also the PTI’s central vice-president, said that the premier will hold public gatherings in a number of districts of the province during the next month. “Important decisions are likely to be made for taking action, especially against the officials of the Pakistan Administrative Service who have been holding key posts in Sindh for 10-15 years and have been involved in corruption with the support of corrupt PPP [Pakistan Peoples Party] rulers.”

It is high time that Sindh is purged of such elements who have made the lives of the people miserable, stressed Sheikh, claiming that 478 officials, including the provincial finance secretary, are among those who have returned looted money after the National Accountability Bureau took action against them. He said that the same officers are creating a mess again, and hoped that the PM will dispense with such officers after they request him to take strong actions to ensure better governance in Sindh by posting honest and efficient officials. “The residents of Sindh will soon get rid of such corrupt and criminal people who’re not only looting the public’s money but also robbing the people on roads and in streets at gunpoint.”

He accused Sindh police chief Mushtaq Mahar of proving more loyal to the PPP leadership than focusing on his official assignment of ensuring the safety and security of the people of the province. He lamented that people are being robbed of their possessions even on motorways and national highways in Sindh.

He alleged that the high-ups in the provincial government are the least interested in launching an operation against bandits and other outlaws in the northern districts despite the fact that a few months ago Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed had assured them of full support to purge the troubled areas of hardened criminals.

“It looks like the days of the PPP government in Sindh are numbered, which is why PPP rulers are only interested in amassing more money from the public exchequer. Notables and those with stainless political careers are likely to join the PTI during the PM’s scheduled visit to Sindh.”