Daily Times

Leader of the Opposition in Sindh Assembly, Haleem Adil Sheikh, Monday, demanded federal government to constitute a joint investigation team to further probe into Dr. Rizwan report for apprehending drug dealers operating in Karachi and to expose the influential persons patronizing the illicit trade of narcotics in Karachi.

He was talking to media persons at City Courts building where he appeared before a court in a defamation cases filed by provincial minister Saeed Ghani against the opposition leader and a private TV channel.

The petitioner Saeed Ghani in defamation cases accused Haleem Adil Sheikh for leveling baseless allegations against him during a TV programme and tried to run down Ghani’s reputation. The court indicted opposition leader Haleem Adil Sheikh while the accused denied the charges. The court adjourned the hearing and summoned prosecution witnesses on February 12.

Haleem Adil Sheikh while talking to media persons said that he had not blamed Saeed Ghani of drug trafficking at his own but a PSP officer in his investigation report charged provincial minister of patronizing drug dealers who also included some close relatives of the said minister.

The PPP Sindh government removed name of Saeed Ghani from Dr Rizwan’s report but still a video statement of Hamidullah was present in which he could be seen telling who he had worked for, he argued. The Anti-Narcotics Force should initiate action on Dr. Rizwan Report while the federal government should form a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) comprising officers from various federal investigation agencies to further probe into Dr. Rizwan’s report and ascertain the facts and determine either Ghani is true or Dr. Rizwan’s report was correct, Haleem demanded.

“I will vigorously defend the charges and will also file a petition in the High Court so that it could be disclosed that who is selling drugs,” he vowed.

“I was earlier involved in false cases in Kunri and Ghotki, I had attended the hearings for two years and honorably exonerated from all the cases by the courts,” he said.

The PPP supporters attacked his caravan during bye-election in PS-88 and false case was also registered against him and he remained under detention for half and a month, Haleem said adding that he was facing the case and was hopeful that he would be acquitted from the false case by the courts.

Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s PPP had remarkable movements for democracy and human rights on its credit but today PPP only believed in retaliation and victimization of political opponents, he said adding that four defamation cases had been registered against him. Referring to Shaheed Nazim Jokhio murder case, leader of the opposition alleged that the case was being incapacitated by the Prosecution Department and prosecutors were supporting the accused as a simple challan was presented in which all the accused were given clean chit.

“A report by investigation officer Siraj Lashari was put aside because Sindh government wanted the flawed old interim challan to be considered as the final one but PTI would resist the move to ensure justice to Shereen Jokhio, widow of the deceased Nazim Jokhio,” he vowed. An organized crime took place the previous night when mobile phones worth Rs3 million were snatched from a market, Haleem stated adding that incidents of target killing were on the rise in Karachi and law and order situation had worsened. The reason behind the escalating crime was impunity to criminal elements as 90% of criminals caught and sent to prisons somehow managed to set themselves free unpunished, he observed.

He said the job of the police is to arrest the suspects, draft the challan and forward it to the prosecution department but Sindh Prosecution Department has become a facilitator of criminals where money settle down the issues and consequently criminals got released. He said the prosecution was a subsidiary department to provincial law department that was commanded by Murtaza Wahab, he pointed out and alleged that ‘clean shaven’ accomplice of Bilawal Zardari were responsible for the catastrophe in Sindh.