PTI to stage its own march from Ghotki to Karachi to counter PPP’s move

As part of its strategy to counter the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) plan to march from Karachi to Islamabad against the federal government on February 27, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has announced to start its own long march from Ghotki to Karachi against the Sindh government on the same date.

The decision to this effect was made in a meeting of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s recently formed Sindh advisory committee in Karachi on Saturday.

The participants of the meetings, which was presided by PTI Sindh President and Federal Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi, discussed restructuring of the party in the province, disputed local government law and upcoming local government election.

Former chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim, Federal Minister Muhammad Mian Soomro, Parliamentary Secretary for Human Rights Lal Malhi, senior leader Ameer Bux Bhutto, opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh, parliamentary leader Khurrum Sher Zaman, and Karachi president Bilal Ghaffar were among the participants of the meeting.

Talking to the media after the meeting, Zaidi said PPP supremo Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said he would march from Karachi to Islamabad on February 27 but the PTI had decided to march on Karachi along with people of the province from Ghotki the same day.

He was of the view that the PPP's Sindh government had badly failed to deliver and the people of Sindh were deprived of even basic facilities, such as health and education.

He maintained that the PPP’s members of the National Assembly were members of the standing committees but in contrast, the PPP had not provided the same positions to opposition members in the Sindh Assembly.

Zaidi said Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah always talked about the 18th amendment that had devolved various powers to the provincial governments, but he was himself snatching powers of the local governments.

“The PPP-led government would swallow all the rights of the people in the province,” the PTI Sindh president said. “The PPP's provincial government could not provide the people with a vaccine against dog bite.”

The Sindh government was introducing a draconian law of the local government in the province, Zaidi remarked. He said Karachi was the financial capital of the country and there was need for making it a world-class city.

The federal government had been executing the K-IV, a mega water supply project, for Karachi, he said. He also thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan for his appointment as the party’s provincial president to restructure the party.