Panama leaks: Rumours of assemblies’ dissolution baseless, says CM

Qaim Ali Shah says Panama leaks must be probed independently but democratic process shouldn't be disrupted

KARACHI:

Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah has said the people of Pakistan have given a mandate to the present assemblies for a period of five years.

“Everyone has to respect this mandate…the rumours about the possibility of dissolving assemblies are unfound and baseless,” he said while talking to media after the grounding-breaking ceremony of National Highway (N-5) from Jinnah Terminal to Quaidabad Flyover on Tuesday.

Replying to a question, the CM said Panama leaks must be probed independently, but clarified that “it doesn’t mean that the democratic system should be disrupted under this pretext.”

Earlier, the CM, accompanied by local government minister Jam Khan Shoro, performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of around three kilometres of N-5 from Jinnah Terminal Flyover to Quaidabad. This is a Rs785.217 million project and is expected to be completed in a year. The contract for the project has been given to the army-run Frontier Works Organization.



N-5 is one of the two major highways of Karachi leading to Thatta and Hyderabad, connected with Shahrae Faisal near Jinnah Terminal.

Shah said there was an impression that the government was constructing new roads but has ignored the old ones. “This is not true as we are rehabilitating old roads as well and this project is one of them,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th,  2016.