Murad Ali Shah, Ali Zaidi pen complaint letters to PM Imran Khan after spat during Karachi meeting
January 24, 2021
- Chief Minister Sindh Murad Shah says he is "registering his protest" against Federal Minister Ali Zaidi's behaviour through the letter
- Shah says Zaidi "acted in a hostile and belligerent manner"
- Zaidi in response letter says Shah "does not even have the etiquette and manners on how to address the office of the Prime Minister"
Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah and Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi have written letters to Prime Minister Imran Khan after a spat during a January 16 meeting of a coordination committee that overlooks development works for Karachi.
Shah, in his letter to the prime minister, said that Zaidi displayed "unruly behaviour".
Zaidi acted in a "hostile and belligerent manner", the letter read.
Moreover, Shah said that this was not the first time he had done such a thing which "is unbecoming of a citizen let alone a federal minister".
The chief minister said that he was writing the letter as a sign of his protest and that he hopes some action will be taken.
He also hoped that in the future, "maturity (to some extent) [...] will be seen as merit for appointments to such high positions".
Zaidi responds
Meanwhile, responding to the Sindh chief minister's letter, Zaidi said that he had requested Shah to include the devolution of organisations like Sindh Building Control Authority to divisional levels "as committed by him months ago in the minutes".
According to the federal minister, upon his request, the chief minister said: "I’m not answerable to you — 3 times.”
Zaidi said that he did not feel the need to sit in the meeting and walked out as "Mr know it" all feels he’s not answerable to members of the National Assembly from his province
"CM Sindh then had the audacity to write to the PM... and his letter shows nothing but arrogance and conceit," Zaidi said, adding: "He does not even have the etiquette and manners on how to address the office of the Prime Minister."
He attached copies of Shah's letter and his own to the prime minister for transparency.
Zaidi went on to criticise how a high-powered committee has to convene "just to discuss how to clean garbage from storm drains and remove encroachments".
"All because of a corrupt provincial government that has looted for decades," he added.
Saeed Ghani asks how Zaidi has access to a confidential letter
Meanwhile, Sindh Minister for Education and Labour Saeed Ghani, weighing in on the matter, questioned how Zaidi has access to a letter that was clearly marked "confidential".
He said that things did become unpleasant in the meeting, but even he wasn't aware that the chief minister had written a letter to the prime minister.
Ghani said people can imagine "who is being serious and who is not", through this very fact that such a letter was posted on social media.
The education minister attested to the fact that the Sindh chief minister demonstrated patience throughout the meeting.
Ghani said Shah had told Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar that such behaviour from a federal minister is inappropriate and that Zaidi is not the sort of man that should be a member of the National Assembly.
