Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Sunday decided to make changes to the Sindh cabinet and bring a new chief minister.

PPP spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said the decision was taken when some senior leaders of the party called on party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in Dubai on Sunday. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah was also present.

The PPP chairman is scheduled to return to Karachi this week and meet provincial leaders of the party before finalising changes to the Sindh cabinet.

Separately, PPP leader Sardar Latif Khosa told the media personnel in Dubai on Sunday that the issue of extension of Rangers’ powers would be resolved soon. He said the PPP was committed to the Charter of Democracy even today.

Khosa said that federal government’s representative did not want to include Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s name in the terms of reference for the judicial commission, which would investigate the reports of the Panama Papers. He said the PPP would bring a bill in the parliament if the federal government led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) does not agree to a transparent enquiry into the Panama leaks.

In response to a question about the Rangers’ deployment, Khosa said the chief minister was the chief executive of the province; therefore, he had the legal right to call the paramilitary force anytime. “The Rangers have done impressive work in Karachi and established peace in the city,” he said. He said it was not fair to assume or say that Sindh police did not have any role in restoration of law and order in Karachi. He gave credit to both the Rangers as well as the Sindh Police for peace in Karachi.

Khosa criticised Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan several times during his press conference. “Nisar should wait for his turn. He should stop hurling threats,” Khosa said. “After the 18th Amendment, Nisar cannot interfere in the matters of provincial autonomy,” he said.

The PPP leader said the interior minister was behind the people who put on display banners across the country inviting the army chief to take over the government.