Minister slams ‘fake news’, says no Zardari case transferred to Karachi

HYDERABAD: Provincial Minister for Information, Transportation and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon has said that nowadays fake news is spread in such a manner that it seems to be true.

The minister said that in a recent article it had been claimed that under an “NRO” all the cases against former president Asif Ali Zardari had been transferred from Rawalpindi to Karachi. However, this “piece of information” was baseless as all his cases were being heard in Rawalpindi and none of them had been transferred to Karachi.

Sharjeel Memon was talking to media personnel at a reception hosted by him for newly elected office-bearers and members of the governing body of Hyderabad Press Club at the Rawal House on Monday.

He said that the leadership of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) did not enter into any kind of deal with anyone; had they done so the cases against them would have been closed by now.

The Pakistan Democratic Movement had been formed by the PPP and it was a good decision because otherwise Imran Khan would still be the prime minister.

He said that senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Fawad Chaudhry had accused him and Minister Nasir Shah of indulging in “horse trading”. “I have not spoken to any member of the PTI.”

It was the “PTI’s job” to accuse other people of wrongdoing, said the minister. In an audio clip shared widely on social media platforms, PTI chief Imran Khan can himself be heard as saying clearly that “five legislators have been bought”.

Turning to the issue of flood affectees, Sharjeel Memon said that rehabilitation work had already been initiated and rebuilding of houses of the victims would be undertaken very soon.

For the first time in the country’s history, two million families affected by flood/ rains would be given money to rebuild their houses, he said. Farmers who cultivated wheat in the flood-affected areas were being given Rs5,000 per acre.

Sindh was the only province where flour was being sold at the official rate of Rs65 per kg. He said that his party was always ready for local body elections.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023