Karachi: Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah on Friday expressed concern over the arrest of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Zardari’s close confidante, Dr Asim Hussain.
The Sindh chief minister expressed his displeasure over the arrest during a meeting with Sindh Director General Rangers Major General Bilal Akbar, saying Hussain should have been informed before the arrest, official sources told The Express Tribune.
“Sindh CM and DG Rangers discussed matters pertaining to the law and order situation of the metropolis, as well as the recent arrest of Dr Asim Hussain,” sources said.
Further, the source added, DG Rangers also presented authentic documents to the provincial chief minister regarding the involvement of Dr Asim in various cases.
“It was decided earlier that all information regarding the Karachi operation will be shared with me and no action will be taken without my consent,” sources quoted Qaim Ali Shah as saying.
Read: Former petroleum minister Dr. Asim arrested in Karachi
On the contrary, CM House spokesperson termed the meeting ‘routine’ in the context of the ongoing Karachi operation.
Rangers levelled terror-financing charges against Dr Asim Hussain while presenting him before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday.
Officials of the paramilitary force informed the Karachi ATC-III that they had taken Dr Asim into preventive custody for 90 days on charges of embezzlement and using misappropriated funds in terrorist acts.
Dr Asim – who is currently serving as the chairman of the Higher Education Council (HEC) in Sindh and is a close confidante of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari – was picked up from his office a day earlier by law enforcers clad in plain clothes. The arrest, at the time, was thought to be part of an anti-graft campaign which has already seen several individuals associated with PPP arrested on corruption charges. However, no government agency claimed responsibility for the arrest all throughout Wednesday.
