KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Saeed Ghani said that there will be no compromise on the 18th Amendment and all democratic parties will defend it.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Saeed Ghani said that the PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had relinquished powers as the president to strengthen the parliament. “Provincial autonomy was guaranteed by the 18th Amendment and the people of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) were given their identity,” he added. He said that the mind set which had declared Shaheed MohtarmaBenazir Bhutto a security risk was now targeting Asif Ali Zardari.
“PPP had resisted anti-democratic forces in the past and still resisting these forces,” Saeed Ghani said adding that vilification campaign against Asif Ali Zardariwas hatched by anti-democratic forces. He further said that the PPP would stand by its leader.
‘NAB misusing its powers in Sindh’
Sindh Local Bodies Minister Saeed Ghani said that no officer in Sindh wanted to work independently due to fear of National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Minister Ghani further said that NAB had targeted Sindh and its actions were only visible in Sindh not in other provinces. He was talking to newsmen in Garhi Khuda Bux where he went to shower rose petals and offer his prayers at the graves of Bhutto leaders on Sunday.
Minister Saeed Ghani told the media that NAB was misusing its powers in Sindh and targeting Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders. He claimed that NAB had initiated no inquiry against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). He said that no action had been taken in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan by NAB. Expressing his reservations against NAB minister Saeed Ghani said that the bureau had double standards.
Minister Ghani said that he had no objections to NAB as long as it worked within its framework. He informed the media that he was thinking of including representatives of NAB, court registry, federal investigation agency (FIA) and anti-corruption in a tender committee to help people abide by the law.
He further shared that in some districts of Sindh, contingency sanitation employees were appointed and all these employees were removed on the directives of a Water Commission (WC) judge. He added that suspension of these employees had resulted in sanitation issues and uncleanliness. He added that he will be meeting mayors of Larkana and Sukkur on Monday (today) to resolve the issue.
He said that the issue of payment of monthly salaries to LB employees would be resolved soon. He said that a committee was being formed to solve pension issues of employees. The minister was asked why the salaries were not disbursed through relevant district accounts offices to end corruption and misuse of funds. “We are working on making entire salaries of LB employees through online system but it will take some time,” he replied.
Published in Daily Times, October 29th 2018.