PA opposition leader backs Governor’s Rule

Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Shaharyar Khan Mahar has said if Governor’s Rule is imposed in Sindh he and his party will support it.

Death row convict Saulat Mirza’s startling revelations about the Muttahida Qaumi Movement had a ring of truth about them because “a man cannot tell a lie just hours before his certain death”, argued Mr Mahar while addressing a luncheon hosted in his honour by the city’s traders association here on Monday.

He said that Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah liked to reiterate that police and other institutions worked under his control, but surprisingly he appeared reluctant to clarify his position with regard to the raid on the MQM headquarters known as Nine Zero.

He said the Rangers had conducted the raid under the government’s supervision and the chief minister was required to clear his government’s policy about it.

About Lyari gangster Uzair Baloch’s hitherto undisclosed allegations, Mr Mahar said that he had already spoken about them in the past. The Sindh government had been patronising criminals for long and now statements of Uzair Baloch against the Pakistan Peoples Party leadership were published in all newspapers, he said.

He rejected reports of any role of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf in a future setup and said that Musharraf would have to clear his name first and face all the cases in court before formally entering politics.

Mr Mahar rejected Sindh Assembly speaker Agha Siraj Durrani’s allegations that gambling was being done in the fair which was under way in Wazirabad and said if he was right he should use his clout to get the fair premises raided.

He said the fair featured cultural programmes which included horses and bulls races but if participants themselves put wagers on races what could be done about it.

He said the fair was organised after seeking permission from the deputy commissioner and the senior superintendent of police. Mr Durrani had done nothing but irreparable damage to local bodies institutions during the last seven years, he said.