KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has rejected reports of a forward bloc in the Sindh Assembly to succeed his party’s government.

“This is mere wishful thinking like having pipe dreams,” he said while talking to the media after expressing his condolence with Syed Akhlaq Hussain Abidi over the death of his son, former MNA Ali Raza Abidi, at his residence on Friday.

Ali Raza Abidi, belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, was assassinated outside his home recently. The CM was accompanied by Law Adviser Murtaza Wahab and special assistants Rashid Rabbani and Waqar Mehdi.

Replying to a question, the chief minister said that the opposition was very weak in the Sindh Assembly but they were making tall claims.

“The people of rural areas of Sindh totally rejected the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf but they got some seats in Karachi and everyone knows how they had won,” he said, adding that in the recent local government by-elections the people of Karachi had also rejected the PTI.

“They [PTI] do not deserve to be responded to their futile statements,” he said.

He said during the previous tenure of the assembly he was told by someone that a forward bloc was being formed and 18 members were parting ways with the PPP. “I challenged him to get the loyalty of one MPA from PPP changed and I’ll give remaining 17 MPAs,” he said.

“These people are empty minded and they cannot assess the ground realities,” he said.

To another question about rumours of Governor’s rule in Sindh, the chief minister said that there was a very clear direction in the Constitution for imposition of the Governor’s rule.

“The provincial assembly was empowered to call for imposition of the [Governor’s] rule, otherwise it was impossible. We are in majority and have enough strength, experience and capability to run the government and serve the people of Sindh,” he said and urged the media not to listen to the rumour-mongering people.

About placing of his name on the Exit Control List, he said it was a surprising decision for him and “let them [PTI government] be happy with their absurd decisions”.

He added that he was not fond of undertaking foreign visits since in his last tenure as the chief minister he had visited China to attend a meeting on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, went to perform Umrah and visited Karbala. And in this term, he recently went to attend another meeting in Beijing, he added.

“I am very clear that my name has deliberately been included in the JIT; otherwise thee is no reason,” he said, adding PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had already declared the JIT report a pack of lies.

‘Important arrest’ at airport in Abidi murder case

To another question about Abidi’s murder, Mr Shah said that it was a shocking incident and he was not given intelligence reports about such threats.

He said that after the Landhi blast, attacks in Gulistan-i-Jauhar and at Chinese consulate genera,l he had convened a law and order meeting to discuss the overall situation.

“It was our failure that terrorists had managed to reach the consulate and took three innocent lives,” he said, and added that he had given clear instructions to all law enforcement agencies to beef up security in the city.

He said an important arrest relating to the murder of Ali Raza Abidi was made at airport.

He said that a well-concentrated and strong investigation was going on into the incident so he could not disclose more details.

He assured the media that Abidi’s killers would be brought to book very soon.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2018