Mirza leaves for Karachi

HYDERABAD:

After five days of blockade of his Morjhar farmhouse, the police ended its siege and allowed former home minister Zulfiqar Mirza to travel to Karachi from Badin.

Moments after the police left, Mirza emerged from the farmhouse and visited the nearby villages where a large number of people welcomed him and showered rose petals on him. “I will go to my home in Karachi and tomorrow [Saturday] I will appear before the court,” he told the media.

He expressed hope that the courts will do justice. Mirza, who also held the portfolio of forest minister when he was part of the provincial cabinet, has been accused by his adversaries in the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of illegally taking over forest land. “Let the Sindh government investigate the forest land issue,” he said. “They will end up exposing their own people.”

In her separate interaction with the press, MNA Dr Fehmida Mirza said the issues ought to be settled politically as there is a democratic dispensation in the country. “We trust courts,” she said. “We will get justice.”

Commenting on the chief minister’s press conference in Karachi after the PPP Sindh Council’s meeting, Fehmida said it appeared they were under pressure to hold a press conference. According to her, she has not received any show-cause notice from the PPP as yet.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2015.