Sindh Information Minister Nisar Khuhro has termed the sentence awarded to Pakistan People’s Party MPA Ali Nawaz Shah ( for corruption) a ‘revengeful action’, claiming that Shah was being politically victimised.
Talking to media after meeting with Ali Nawaz Shah in Central Jail Karachi, Nisar Khuhro said, the government had allotted land to PPP MPA on lease.
The minister said, “there is clear law present for the leasing process, under which land was allotted to Ali Nawaz.” He said even Ali Nawaz can sue the government over it.
Nisar went on to say that Ali Nawaz had even refused to get salary when he was minister, adding that they had right to appeal against his sentence.
Commenting on the statement of ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Nihal Hashmi, Khuhro said Hashmi is unaware of political norms.
An Accountability Court had disqualified PPP member of the Sindh Assembly Syed Ali Nawaz Shah for 10 years and also sentenced him to a jail term for his involvement in a fraud case.
The court convicted Shah along with his two relatives who had allegedly committed a revenue fraud of around Rs5 million.
His cousin Syed Khadim, who also served as federal population minister in 1988, and a nephew Syed Imtiaz Ali Shah were sentenced to four and three-year jail terms respectively.
The reference filed in 2001 said Ali Nawaz Shah and others sold some land to the government at inflated prices and later claimed the land as their own.
Ali Nawaz, who was first elected as a member of the Sindh Assembly in 1977, also served as a federal minister for industries in 1989. He has been elected a senator and an MPA three times since then.