KARACHI: Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has strongly criticized Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s recent remarks on Kashmir, accusing her party of attempting to gain political sympathy in the region despite what he described as a lack of democratic credibility.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Sharjeel Memon said that the party he referred to as the “product of Form 47” had now turned its attention toward Kashmir in an effort to win political support. He claimed that the people of Kashmir had rejected what he called “fake representation” in the past and would continue to do so in the future.
Reacting to Maryam Nawaz’s comments, the senior provincial minister said that a political party which, in his view, had deprived the people of its own province of their democratic right to vote had no moral justification to claim to speak on behalf of the rights of the Kashmiri people.
“The party produced through Form 47 is now seeking political sympathies in Kashmir,” Sharjeel Memon said. “A party that has deprived its own citizens of the right to vote has no ethical grounds to politicize the rights of the Kashmiri people.”
He further argued that instead of criticizing political opponents, the Punjab government should focus on evaluating its own governance and public service delivery.
Sharjeel Memon also claimed that millions of residents from Punjab travel to Karachi and other cities in Sindh to receive better medical treatment and healthcare facilities. According to him, this reflected the quality of healthcare services available in Sindh compared with those in Punjab.
“Rather than criticizing others, the Punjab government should review its own performance,” he added.
The minister’s remarks come amid continuing political exchanges between leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), with both sides frequently criticizing each other’s governance and electoral legitimacy.
The reference to “Form 47” relates to election result forms used during Pakistan’s general elections. Opposition parties have repeatedly alleged irregularities associated with the compilation of election results, while the government has rejected such allegations.
Sharjeel Memon’s comments represent the Pakistan Peoples Party’s political position and were made in response to Maryam Nawaz’s statement regarding Kashmir. No response from the Punjab government or the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was immediately available at the time of reporting.
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