New Sindh governor: CM should have been taken into confidence, says PPP

PTI, JI, PML-N react to the change

KARACHI: Reacting to the appointment of a new Sindh governor, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) expressed concern over not being taken into confidence.

"Neither the PPP nor Sindh government was taken into confidence on the issue," said information adviser Maula Bux Chandio while talking to the media.

Criticising Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, Chandio said, "Prime Minister [Nawaz Sharif] should have taken the chief minister into confidence". He added that the PM does not give importance to smaller provinces and is only concerned with Punjab. "He is more interested in developing his own palaces rather than strengthening democracy," he remarked.

With this unilateral decision, PML-N government has set a wrong precedent, which will unleash negative consequences, he said, adding, "Nawaz behaves like a king and that is why he does not bothers to consult others and follow democratic values," he lamented.  Reacting to the criticism, PML-N Senator Nehal Hashmi said it is the federal government's prerogative to appoint the governor and the decision was made on merit. "There is no constitutional biding to consult the provincial CM for the appointment of the governor," he said responding to Chandio's statement.

PTI reacts

The decision to change the Sindh governor is incomprehensible to me, remarked Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) deputy secretary-general Imran Ismail, adding that he does not understand the logic of changing the governor during the Karachi operation and before the general elections in 2018. The federal government should have waited another year and let the matter be decided by the new government, he said while speaking to The Express Tribune.

Former governor Ishratul Ebad Khan had done great service to the province and had remained impartial during the Karachi operation even though people from his former party were being arrested.

He also termed allegations of corruption against Khan as 'baseless' and said that the allegations were made against him by his former party colleague therefore it does not hold much weight.

JI supports decision

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Merajul Huda Siddiqui praised the former governor and remarked that he has given a lot to Karachi. He also served under three different rulers including Pervez Musharraf, PPP and more than three years with PML-N.

"He has enjoyed a long-time service in the province," he said, adding that, "We live in a democratic country and such decisions are taken for the betterment of the whole system".

Showing his belief in the new governor, Justice (retd) Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, he remarked that he had a good record in the justice system. However, in Pakistan the main responsibilities lie with the CM and not with the governor, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2016.