Sindh Minister for Information & Archives and Labor, Saeed Ghani Tuesday said that whenever Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Karachi, it was expected that he would discuss the issues of Karachi, but if he himself did not want to meet Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah, the Sindh government could not be blamed for that. He said this while talking to mediapersons during his visit to Karachi Press Club.
The information minister said that it was not true that the Chief Minister Sindh did not receive the Prime Minister at the airport. He said that first the Prime Minister seldom bother to visit Karachi and secondly whenever he had to come to Karachi the provincial government was informed about his schedule but this time this had not been done.
He said that even if the Sindh government sent a letter to the Prime Minister, the same was never responded on a priority basis. Saeed Ghani said that Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) had always faced stiff competition on the PS-11, while in this election the votes of the PPP had increased as compared to the last three to four years. He said that it was always tried vigorously that People's Party did not win any election.
The provincial minister for information said that the candidates of the Grand Democratic Alliance always faced humiliation in every election. Power vaccinations were always needed to keep the Grand Democratic Alliance alive, he added. Saeed Ghani said if Pakistan People's Party also started 'injecting' power vaccinations to the members of the Grand Democratic Alliance, these men would never leave the party.
Ghani said that Sindh government would remain intact, but Imran Khan must worry about whether his government would remain in place or not by January 2020. On the health of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his re-hospitalization, the provincial minister of information expressed serious concerns and said that the thinking of Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government was leading the country to dangerous situation.
Responding to another question, the provincial minister said that the local bodies elections would be conducted on time. He said that the Local Government Act 2013 existed which could be amended as well. Meanwhile, Sindh Minister for Information & Archives Saeed Ghani visited KPC and met with press club office-bearers. Karachi Press Club President Imtiaz Faran, Secretary Arman Sabir, Raja Kamran, Saeed Sarbazi, Abul Hasan, Waheed Rajpar, Akram Baloch and Hanif Akbar were present during the meeting.
The meeting discussed in detail the issues pertaining to the grant of journalists, the lease of the plots owned by journalists, the land allocated to journalists by Lyari Development Authority and other relevant problems being faced by the journalists. Addressing the meeting, Ghani said that this was his first visit to Karachi Press Club after assuming the charge of the information ministry and he was happy to be here.
The minister said that as far as the problems being faced by journalists were concerned, including the lease of plots and other issues, especially the grant to be given to the press clubs, the Sindh government was working sincerely to resolve these problems and without any undue delay all these problems would be addressed. He said that at present, all segments of the country, including media, were suffering due to the poor economic conditions of the country.
Saeed Ghani said that media had been facing serious financial crises for the last one year. The provincial minister asked the owners of media groups to take good care of their employees. He said that the failure and the incompetence of the federal government had created serious problems for the middle class and poor.
Saeed Ghani said that curbs were placed deliberately on media so that journalists could not expose the failures of the PTI government. He said, "I strongly condemn the unannounced ban on media as well as resent the financial crises they were facing owing to the failed policies of the federal government." Karachi Press Club President Imtiaz Faran and Secretary Arman Sabir thanked Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani for visiting KPC and said that they hoped that as in the past the Sindh government of Pakistan People's Party would continue to take positive steps for the welfare of journalists. Information Secretary Ahmed Bakhsh Narejo, Director General Public Relations, Sindh Mansoor Ahmed Sheikh and Director Press Information Zeenat Jahan accompanied the minister on the occasion.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019