Vacant ministries: Cabinet door open for MQM, says CM Shah

Says it’s up to the party if it wants to join the govt.

KARACHI:

Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah on Wednesday said it was up to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to decide if it wanted to join the provincial government.

“There is no pressure on MQM to join the Sindh government,” Shah told the media at a reception hosted by MPA Owais Muzaffar.

Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani, Deputy Speaker Shehla Reza, Senior Minister Nisar Khoro and Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon were present on the occasion.

When asked if some slots of minsters have been left vacant so as to accommodate MQM at a later stage, the Sindh CM said that extension in cabinet will be decided after the approval of the provincial budget.

Regarding Supreme Court’s ruling on out of turn promotions, Shah said legal experts of the government are examining the order and will advise to file or not to file a review petition in the apex court.

Owais Muzaffar said Pakistan Peoples Party believes in serving the masses. Sindh budget has incorporated a number of pro-poor schemes, he said.

The Sindh CM said that although the Taliban have claimed responsibility for killing MQM MPA Sajid Qureshi, the joint investigation team probing the murder is looking into the case from various angles.



Replying to a query, Shah said that ex-dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharraf should be tried according to the orders of the Supreme Court.

To another question, he said, according to the Supreme Court, there are more than two million illegal immigrants in the country, but the number is much higher and it is not easy to expel them.

Separately, Chief Minister Shah visited a local hospital and inquired about the health of Justice Maqbool Baqar, the Sindh High Court judge who was injured in the Burns Road blast. He also met with the judges there and the family members of Justice Baqar and sympathised with them on the incident. Later talking to journalists he said Justice Baqar is a courageous person and was in high spirits despite the attack.  He added that a comprehensive and foolproof strategy would be chalked out in consultation with the chief justice and other judges of the Sindh High Court for the security of the judges.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2013.