KARACHI: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday launched a strong verbal attack on the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led Sindh government, accusing it of failing to curb street crimes in the metropolis, improve law and order, tackle corruption and address inflation and police excesses across the province.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s municipal office, Insaf House, Karachi, Sindh chapter president Haleem Adil Sheikh said state institutions in the province had “ceased to function effectively”.
“Sindh is the land of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai and hospitality, but today oppression and anarchy prevail,” he lamented, blaming the PPP government for the deteriorating situation in the province.
Citing a recent case of “police brutality”, he referred to the case of a young worker, Irfan Baloch, who had come from Uch Sharif, Punjab, to Karachi for work, and was allegedly kidnapped and tortured to death by the CIA police.
Haleem Adil says more than 50 citizens were killed by robbers this year
“No FIR has been registered yet,” he said, warning that if justice were denied, it would be proven that “the police institution itself is complicit in this brutality.”
Accompanied by PTI Sindh leaders Jamal Siddiqui, Farukh Khan and others, the PTI provincial chief also highlighted the alarming rise in street crimes in the metropolis.
“In September alone, 199 cars, 3,698 motorcycles and 1,542 mobile phones were stolen, while this year 51 citizens were killed resisting robberies,” he stated.
Sheikh questioned why authorities had not taken action against the sponsors of 72 robbers who surrendered recently in Shikarpur’s Katcha area, pointing out that “no hostage had been recovered”.
“Katcha areas have become no-go zones. Law and order in Sindh has collapsed and police excesses are rampant,” he said.
Referring to the 2024-25 report of the Auditor General of Pakistan, the PTI provincial chief said that “financial irregularities worth Rs 836 billion” had been discovered in Sindh government departments.
“Seventeen years of PPP rule have brought Sindh to the brink of destruction. Corruption has infested every institution,” he said.
He said citizens were being “crushed by rising inflation” and that “corruption” had become routine.
“Flour, sugar, vegetables, pulses, ghee, electricity and gas have become unaffordable. People must break their silence as remaining silent now means inciting crime,” he warned.
Sheikh also deplored the sorry state of education and healthcare in Sindh, stating that “more than six million children are out of school”, hospitals lack basic facilities and dengue cases are increasing.
He criticized the provincial government for “denying” citizens access to the Sehat Card and “exploiting” farmers who did not receive fair prices for their crops.
Furthermore, he alleged large-scale corruption in the Sindh Solar Energy Programme, which is a project funded by Rs 28 billion from the World Bank.
“Fake import documents were used and the actual price of the solar fans was $23.4 per unit, but the Sindh government procured them for $151 per unit. On top of that, Rs 127 million in fake tax claims were filed,” he alleged.
Published in Dawn, October 26, 2025
