HYDERABAD/LARKANA: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s ‘Haqooq-i-Sindh March’ reached Nawabshah on Tuesday evening on its way to the ending point, Karachi.

PTI vice president Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who holds the portfolio of foreign minister, spoke to the participants at a public meeting held at Shiraz Chowk.

Critising Pakistan Peoples Party’s governance in Sindh, he deplored that government jobs used to be sold. “People do need roti kapra aur makan [alluding to PPP’s popular manifesto slogan] but they also expect faith and honesty [on the part of rulers],” he said.

Referring to a recent incident in which some members of the Zardari clan allegedly gunned down five members of the Bhand community in Shaheed Benazirabad district, he said no PPP leader even bothered to visit the bereaved families for condolence.

The heirs’ FIR was not properly registered and only formality was done, he observed, and said the community faced injustice and the heirs were, in fact, dodged.

Mr Qureshi said that some people in Tando Masti Khan had complained to him that they were being implicated in false cases while some others narrated how they were shot at and wounded.

He said that if people of Sindh wanted to rid themselves of [PPP supremo] Asif Zardari, then they would have to show awakening. “If Sindh is ready for a change, then what were they waiting for?” he asked, and said if they were complacent with prevailing conditions in Sindh, then it was up to them.

PTI Sindh president and Federal Minister for Shipping and Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi said that Sindh’s education and health sectors were destroyed by the PPP government. “Larkana witnessed a change yesterday, and Nawabshah is witnessing the same today,” he remarked with reference to the big crowds attending the PTI events.

Ali Zaidi accused PPP MPA Haji Ali Hassan Zardari of being involve in the murder of the five Bhand community fellows and a policeman.

He noted that [PPP chairman] Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari did not offer his condolences to the Bhand community otherwise he was very quick in meeting heirs of any such incident. He said Bilawal should ask his father as to how he had raised his empire. He predicted that PTI would form its government in Sindh after the 2023 elections and would win more seats than PPP.

LARKANA: Earlier, addressing a press conference at Kot Darab here on Tuesday, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said PPP was holding its march only for powers while PTI’s march was for Sindh’s rights. He wondered why PPP was getting nervous over PTI’s march. “PPP cannot put lid on truth as people in a big number were watching PTI’s activity on the social media,” he said.

“We are ready for accountability after completing our tenure,” he said and, in the same breath, asked Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to disclose their 15 years’ accounts.

He spoke about the poor plight of education and health sectors in Sindh and pointed out that the people of Tharparkar were even deprived of drinking water. He said that PTI had given go ahead to many development schemes in that district and gave ‘Health Card’ to people. Unfortunately, he added, Sindh was obstructing distribution of the health card across the province.

Mr Qureshi regretted that sewage was intentionally released into the venue of the PTI public meeting to disturb the programme, and said that the district administration had initially declined to allow PTI to use the venue for the public meeting. He said: “We being democrats, will take on PPP democratically”.

Federal Minister Ali Zaidi, PTI’s senior vice president Amir Bakhsh Bhutto, Larkana Awami Ittehad convener Dr Safdar Abbasi, GDA MPA Moazam Abbasi and PTI leader Dado Allah Bakhsh Unnar were also present.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2022