Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah Thursday said that neither he knows Yousuf Thelewala nor has ever met him but under a pre-planned conspiracy a `spoon-fed statement' of the accused has been recorded on a mobile phone in which Thelewala has taken his (Murad's) name.

"This is quite surprising for me that my connection with an accused, a mass-murderer, has been tried to establish but this attempt is bound to fail as it is baseless, unfounded and mala fide.

Talking to media at National Institute of Management (NIM) where he presided over the graduation ceremony of 27-Mid-term Career Management Course (MCMC), he said that he held a meeting with IG Police Dr Kaleem Imam, Additional IG Ghulam Nabi Memon and gave them the task to conduct an inquiry and trace the conspiracy, whatsoever, how his name was taken by the accused. "I have also asked them to inquire as to how a selected reporter was allowed to record the statement of the accused in his mobile phone, otherwise there was mention of my meeting with the accused in the press conference," he said.

Shah said that in 2017 Yousuf Thelewala was arrested by Pakistan Rangers, Sindh and the accused was saying that he had met him. "Let the inquiry take its course," he said.

To another question, the chief minister said that a car with fake number plate was plying on the roads with a police mobile escorting it. "This video went viral on social media and I asked the Excise & Taxation Minister to trace out the owner of the car," he said and added the minister excise told him that the vehicle belonged to Governor House.

He said that the police have registered an FIR but it was not against the Governor. "When I became the chief minister I got all the CM House vehicles registered with Excise & Taxation Department and I would talk to the Governor and request him to get all his house vehicles registered," he added.

To another question about proposed reshuffle in the cabinet, the chief minister said it was his discretion. "Cabinet is reshuffled in consultation with party leadership and we will do when we feel it necessary," he said and added what TV channels were just guessing.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019