HYDERABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Sindh president Syed Shah Mohammad Shah on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Imran Khan for seeking donations from public for the construction of dams and said the country could not be run on donations.

Mr Shah said at a press conference held at local press club that he was dissolving the party’s provincial structure, including all chapters of divisions, districts, wings and bodies of sister organisations with the approval of party president Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif to strengthen the party structure and enable it to take back its ‘snatched’ mandate.

He said that 25-member advisory committee had been formed to reorganise the party. Former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair was chairman of the committee, Salim Zia was secretary and senator Asad Junejo, Miftah Ismail and others were members, he said.

He said the committee would also present recommendations to the central leadership within a month. Soon after Muharram, Shahbaz Sharif would embark on a countrywide tour, starting from Sindh, he said.

Mr Shah slammed July 25 general election and said that all political forces including PML-N, PPP, ANP, MMA, National Party and others had rejected the rigged election at a multi party conference. The parties had decided that they must sit in the parliament under protest and press for the formation of a parliamentary commission to probe all allegations of rigging. They had already raised the demand for the commission in the house, he said.

He said that although PML-N was protesting against rigging, it also took part in the election of National Assembly speaker, deputy speaker, prime minister and president for the sake of democracy.

He said that Mian Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam came back to Pakistan despite knowing they would be arrested. “Mr Sharif made history by taking a difficult decision for the sake of the country and the democracy but invisible forces compelled PML-N electables to join Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI),” he said.

Mr Shah claimed that the men in uniform who stood guard in and outside polling stations on the election day ensured that no one cast vote for PML-N. Female polling agents were locked in rooms, results were withheld, form-45 was not given to agents, the system developed faults and results were announced after a full day. That was why, they demanded the commission to probe all anomalies that took place during election, he said.

He said the federal government had raised gas prices by 46 per cent, electricity by Rs5 and Rs800 a sack of fertiliser and claimed that price of fertiliser had been hiked to favour Imran Khan’s friend Jahangir Tarin who owned fertiliser factories.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2018