Inspite of the extremely scathing criticism of the PPP-led government in Sindh, the party’s co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari has ruled out imposition of governor’s rule in the province.
Instead, Zardari insisted he was ‘completely satisfied’ with the performance of the octogenarian chief minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, who has been facing calls for his resignation since the May 13 deadly attack on a bus carrying members of the peaceful Ismaili community in Karachi.
“After the 18th constitutional amendment, imposition of governor’s rule is not easy anymore. Now it has to go through parliament within a specified timeframe,” the perpetually smiling Zardari told journalists during an informal media interaction on yesterday.
The statement came two days after Karachi Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Naveed Mukhtar said that political and administrative inefficiency had complicated the law and order situation in the metropolitan city where a surgical operation has been ongoing since last year.
The current PPP led dispensation led by the 80 year plus Qaim Ali Shah is widely perceived to be the most current and incompetent administration in the nation’s history by most people.
However, Zardari continued to insist that except for Karachi, there was peace in the province. “Sindh has never been more peaceful during any of the military regimes,” he claimed. “We have no plans to replace the chief minister. He [Qaim Ali Shah] is not only the chief minister, he is also president of PPP’s Sindh chapter,” he said, quashing speculation about an administrative change in the province.
Asked about the recent statement of the Karachi corps commander, Zardari said military officials were trained to be aggressive. He recalled that after the 1971 Fall of Dhaka, when someone asked the military ruler how he was feeling, he said ‘all is well’. The PPP co-chairman said it was the civilian government that had called the army and paramilitary Rangers in Karachi and other areas to assist the civil administration.
