Leader of the Opposition in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh appeared before the court on Wednesday in a defamation case filed against him by Sindh minister Saeed Ghani.
The court adjourned hearing of the case to February 07, 2022 due to absence of the plaintiff. Advocate Wahab Baloch, defense counsel of Haleem Adil Sheikh, raised the objection on absence of the plaintiff and requested the court to ensure his presence in every hearing of the case in the court as his client was appearing before the court on every hearing.
Wahab Baloch argued that warrants against his client was issued without comprehending the defamation suit as it did not mention the words used by Haleem Adil Sheikh and which the plaintiff considered as libel.
Later talking to media persons advocate Wahab Baloch said that he would also question the nature and grounds of the charges framed in next hearing of the case. The plaintiff is a provincial minister and accountable to masses as a public office holder, he said adding that raising a question does not provide ground for filing a defamation case.
Haleem Adil Sheikh while speaking to media persons said that Saeed Ghani had filed four defamation cases against him while PPP Sindh government had already made false cases against him in Malir, Umerkot and Ghotki.
“We respect our judicial system and ready to face all the false and fabricated cases,” he said adding that he was a follower of PM Imran Khan and such tactics could not subdue him and he would keep exposing corruption and wrong doings of PPP government in Sindh.
“Saeed Ghani said that Haleem Adil Sheikh was unaware of the facts and was not well briefed of the issues and why accusations of land grabbing were leveled against him as he was not involved in land grabbing,” the opposition leader said adding that he had alleged the provincial minister of patronizing sell of narcotics and land grabbing while he only refuted land grabbing it meant that he had confessed his involvement in drug business.
Haleem Adil said that he was fighting against illegal trade of narcotics in Sindh and if he succeeds in saving a single citizen of Sindh from menace of drugs he would consider it as success.
Referring to investigation report of SSP Dr. Rizwan he alleged that close relatives of Saeed Ghani were selling narcotics in Karachi and now they were involved in land grabbing as well.
Sindh government had issued clean chit to Saeed Ghani on the basis of a report of a lame committee and charged a Hameedullah Pathan of drug selling while the same Hameedullah Pathan had earlier confessed that he was working for Saeed Ghani and his nephew Hassan. The video of Pathan’s confession was available with us and soon it would be released to media, he added.
Haleem Adil Sheikh said that PTI has requested the federal government to constitute a Joint Investigation Team on Dr. Rizwan report while a petition would also be filed in Sindh High Court in the regard.
He alleged Saeed Ghani of involvement in land grabbing in Korangi and East districts of Karachi and said that those allegations will be substantiated as well.
Haleem Adil Sheikh welcomed Supreme Court’s judgment on Sindh Local Government Act and said that the apex court has directed to empower local governments with authority and powers in accordance with article 140-A of the constitution. It means earlier constitution was being violated in Sindh, he observed saying that PPP Sindh government had centralized all the powers and did not want to devolve the authority to third tier of the government as CM hinted review petition in the regard.
Haleem Adil said that PTI was opposing the SLGA 2013 from the first day and a petition by Imran Khan and Asad Umer was pending in Supreme Court as well. Now over movement would be focused on devolution of powers to grass root level and restoration of constitution in Sindh and implementation on directives of Supreme Court of Pakistan, Haleem Adil announced.
He also censured PPP chairman Bilawal Zardari for postponing meeting of National Assembly’s standing committee on Human Rights because issue of murder of Nazim Jokhio was included in agenda. Bilawal self acclaimed champion of human rights wanted to save assassins, he said.