In fond memory: PPP leaders arrive in Sukkur for Bhutto’s anniversary

Sharjeel Memon says he can neither confirm nor deny if MQM is joining govt.

SUKKUR: Sindh information minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said that he is neither in a position to confirm nor deny if the Muttahida Qaumi Movement is joining the Sindh government.

Talking to the media in Sukkur, Memon said that any decision on this matter will be taken in the larger interest of the people of the province. There will be no changes in the Sindh Assembly as the cabinet enjoys the support of the people, he said, explaining the Sindh chief minister holds multiple portfolios, like his counterpart in the Punjab. But there are no corruption charges against Qaim Ali Shah, he added.

On the Karachi operation, he said that crime rate in the city has decreased and many culprits have been nabbed. They are under trial in the courts, he added.

Meanwhile, former prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani also spoke to the media at Sukkur airport before heading to Garhi Khuda Bux. He made it clear that he has not spoken to the people holding his son in captivity.

On the ongoing dialogue between the government and the Taliban, Gillani said the government is in a better position to tell about its pace. He refused to comment on Musharraf’s issue. The government and the judiciary will decide about him and the PPP has nothing to do with it, he said.

PPP information secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira said that dialogues should remain dialogues and not turn into mockery. He was of the view that the dialogues will not give results unless done with sincerity.

Former defence minister Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtiar felt the present government’s defence policy is “fishy”. He advised the government take proper control of its foreign policy as well. Senate chairperson Nayyar Bukhari said that after the 18th Amendment, the cabinet is not only accountable to the National Assembly but to the Senate as well. The cabinet members should, therefore, come to the Senate and answer all the questions raised by the senators, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2014.