PPP backed emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last, says Sharjeel Memon

KARACHI: Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said on Monday that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was the last party to support governor’s rule and an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said it had first urged that priority be given to political talks and contacts.

According to The Express Tribune, Mr Memon said the PPP contacted the other side not once but ten times and told the federal government that matters should be resolved through political dialogue. He said that if, even after many efforts, the province’s chief minister himself leaned towards the Taliban and terrorists and was unwilling to listen, the government could not leave the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the mercy of terrorists.

According to the report, governor’s rule and the emergency were imposed on 11 October after talks between the government and the opposition failed. Earlier, the PTI’s long march towards Islamabad had begun on 4 October.

According to Pakistan Today, Mr Memon said the PPP could not stay silent while the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa faced terrorism and while business faced constant security threats. He alleged that the provincial leadership could not agree on a joint counter-terrorism plan, which left the federal government with limited options during militant violence. He also recalled the party’s history against militancy, citing the bomb attack on Benazir Bhutto’s welcome procession on 18 October 2007 and her assassination the same year.

The minister made these remarks during a visit to the operations command and control centre of the Green Line BRT in Karachi, where he was briefed on the system’s operations, passenger numbers and links with other projects.

According to Pakistan Today, he said the Sindh government was building an integrated public transport network by linking Karachi’s Green, Red, Yellow and Orange BRT lines. He said about 50,000 passengers travelled daily on the Green Line under the federal government, and the number has risen to about 90,000 since its transfer to Sindh. He mentioned electric buses, electric scooters and pink buses for women, and said work on bridges and other infrastructure on the Yellow Line was under way.

Mr Memon said Sindh intended to start road construction projects in every district over the next six to eight months. Speaking of operations with law enforcement agencies in Karachi and the riverine areas, he said cooperation had reduced incidents of terrorism, strikes and kidnapping for ransom.