Will approach NAB against Sindh govt: PTI

Haleem Adil Shaikh claims land scam probe initiated against him on PPP's behest

KARACHI:

As reports of a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) inquiry against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Haleem Adil Shaikh surfaced, the party's provincial leadership announced on Sunday that it planned to approach NAB for a probe into the Sindh government's corruption too.

Tensions continued to flare between PTI and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders, who engaged in yet another verbal duel on the day, levelling allegations and throwing insults at each other. The latest war of words comes as the NAB opened an inquiry against Shaikh for allegedly grabbing and illegally selling over 250 acres of state land.

Addressing a press conference, PTI leaders said that the media was unnecessarily "sensationalising" the matter even when the NAB had not yet issued a notice to Shaikh. They claimed a "media campaign targeting Shaikh" had been initiated to divert attention from the "mega-corruption" carried out by PPP leaders.

"Some persons filed a complaint [against Shaikh] with the NAB, following which the anti-graft watchdog had issued notices to [just the] relevant authorities to gather information," clarified Sindh Assembly opposition leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi.

Naqvi went on to allege that the complaint against Shaikh was lodged by the PPP, in a bid to suppress the PTI leader's voice.

He then recounted corruption allegations levelled against PPP leaders, dubbing the party's co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari "the epitome of corruption."

"A joint investigation team report on corruption accusations against Zardari has been released, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has been alleged of illegally issuing Rs1 billion to Thatta Sugar Mills and in the light of various audit reports of the past, cases of corruption worth billions can be filed against PPP leaders," he noted. "But all of it has been forgotten as the media creates hype about the one complaint filed against Shaikh."

Defending himself, Shaikh said, "When I began to expose the Sindh government's corruption, it turned against me. They even approached the anti-corruption department to file a complaint against me and despite having all records of land in Sindh, failed to prove any charges against me."

Shaikh also brought up former Shikarpur SSP Rizwan Ahmed Khan's reports accusing PPP leaders of patronising criminal, stating that the matter needed to be probed further but the media appeared to have forgotten it.

The PTI leader announced that he planned to approach the NAB against the Sindh government's corruption, adding that he had solid proof of it. "We will then see what action the NAB takes against the provincial government."

Denying having received any notice from the NAB, he clarified that the complaint filed against him did not mention china-cutting.

PPP's retort

In a separate press conference, Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani lashed back at the PTI leaders, calling on the prime minister to remove Shaikh as the party's provincial president.

"I do not expect the NAB to take any action against Shaikh," said Ghani. "This drama is probably being staged to give him a clean chit."

The NAB also hadn't taken any action following the sugar commission's findings, which involved the prime minister and other influential people, he pointed out.

Ghani further questioned, "Why are those raising voices on the auditor general's report, which exposes corruption in the federal government, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, being silenced?"

He also slammed the Centre over the worsening economic situation, the coronavirus pandemic, a looming wheat crisis in Sindh and Punjab and the decline of Pakistan International Airlines.

"They have ruined the country's economy and are now trying to cover up their incompetence by diverting attention towards the joint investigation team's report [on Lyari gangwar leader Uzair Baloch]," he claimed.

Insisting that federal minister Ali Zaidi had lied about not knowing anything about the Peoples Amn Committee (PAC), led by Baloch, joining the PTI, he said it had not come to light that President Arif Alvi, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Zaidi had been tasked with bringing PAC into the party's fold.

"[Baloch's associate] Habib Jan himself admitted that PAC members joined the PTI sit-in in Karachi. They were supporting PTI," he stated, adding that Zaidi had claimed in 2014 that the cases against PAC were purely political.

PPP slams Centre over electricity crisis

Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani, once again, lambasted the federal government on Sunday, holding it responsible for the power crisis in Sindh, and particularly in Karachi.

K-Electric (KE) had requested the Centre in writing in January this year to increase the supply of furnace oil during June and July, but the federal government did not pay any heed to the request and even barred oil companies from importing furnace oil, decried Ghani.

"Also, why has [the federal government] not taken any action against K-Electric, the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company and Sukkur Electric Power Company, even when they have made people's lives miserable?" he questioned.

He went on to criticise the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf for first "creating a [power] crisis," and then protesting against it. "And they even increased electricity prices," he remarked.

Ghani demanded that the federal government reverse its decision of increasing electricity and petroleum products' prices.