Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon on Tuesday strongly reacted to a statement by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, criticising what he described as politics based on a “fake mandate” and claiming that the people reject such practices.
In a statement, Memon said that a party which is a “product of Form 47” has come to Kashmir to seek political sympathies. He claimed that the Kashmiri people had rejected “fake representation” in the past and would continue to do so in the future.
He alleged that a party that came into power with the support of a “fake mandate” was attempting to present itself as a champion of the rights of the Kashmiri people.
“The party that is a product of Form 47 has a political history of disregarding the public mandate,” he said, adding that a party which deprives people of their right to vote in its own province has no moral justification to raise issues concerning the rights of Kashmiri people.
Memon said that, like the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmiri voters would also reject what he called “Form 47 politics”.
Responding to criticism of Sindh’s performance, the senior minister said that millions of citizens from Punjab still travel to Karachi and other cities of Sindh for better healthcare and medical facilities. He advised political opponents to evaluate their own performance instead of criticising others.
Memon said the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) believes in public service, democratic values, constitutional supremacy and a genuine public mandate.
“The centre of our politics is not power but the trust and service of the people,” he said, adding that people would continue to reject the politics of “fake mandate” in every election.