Haleem Adil Sheikh, president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Sindh, on Wednesday criticised the alleged VIP treatment provided to a suspected female drug peddler, identified as Pinky, and questioned who was patronising and facilitating such elements.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, Sheikh said that ordinary citizens, political workers and protesters were never extended the kind of facilities allegedly given to the accused. He said the manner in which the suspect was presented at the police station and later before a court had raised serious questions over the rule of law, the justice system and the conduct of the police.

The PTI leader said party workers routinely appeared before courts in what he termed ‘false cases’ and terrorism-related charges, but were never treated in a similar manner. He questioned under whose directives the Sindh police were allegedly facilitating what he described as a ‘drug mafia’.

Sheikh alleged that women police personnel often adopted a harsh attitude towards PTI workers, nurses, teachers, health workers and ordinary citizens during protests, but in this case no female officer was seen handling the accused. He also criticised what he described as selective policing, saying protesters demonstrating against inflation were arrested immediately, whereas the suspect appeared to have been granted special treatment and relief.

‘If drug trafficking had continued for the last 10 to 15 years, then under whose patronage was this network operating?’ he asked. Haleem Adil Sheikh alleged that the youth, students and citizens of Sindh had been exposed to narcotics while the government remained a ‘silent spectator’.

He further claimed that during the 18-year rule of Pakistan Peoples Party in Sindh, corruption, narcotics trade, gambling, extortion and nepotism had reached alarming levels. He alleged that corruption and bribery had spread across various sectors, ranging from the Sindh Public Service Commission to organised drug trafficking.

The PTI Sindh president also alleged that the Sindh police were being used to protect influential criminal groups instead of safeguarding the public, adding that senior officials and rulers were responsible for the prevailing system. He said the province had been pushed towards destruction due to what he termed ‘state patronage of criminal networks’.

The post PTI questions VIP protocol for drug peddler appeared first on PPI News Agency.