HYDERABAD: Adviser to the Sindh chief minister on information Maula Bux Chandio has said that Sindh is the victim of double standards be it delegation of powers to Rangers or judicial action against its prime ministers. Elaborating, he said that while special powers were demanded for the Rangers in Sindh, the same were denied in Punjab.

Mr Chandio was speaking to journalists and addressing a three-day elocution competition that began at the Government College Hyderabad under the aegis of its alumni association on Tuesday.

An Urdu debate competition was titled `Aazadi-i-afkar hai Iblees ki ijad`.Mr Chandio said that the Pakistan Peoples Party`s prime minister was put in the dock, but `dare touch and arrest the prime minister of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and we`ll be convinced [of impartiality].` He said that Sindh`s prime minister was handcuffed and a world leader [Benazir Bhutto] was assassinated in broad day light. He said that the weak were always easy to suppress.

He said that when it came to delegation of powers to the Rangers, the Centre demanded them off and on, but when Rangers declared that they would go to Punjab, its chief minister said the Rangers did not have the mandate to take action in corruption-related matters.

He said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had passed a lawattaching to it pre-conditions for law enforcers. Under that law, he said, for arrest of an officer the KP chief secretary was to be taken on board and if a politician was to be apprehended, the government`s prior permission had to be obtained. `If they [other provincial governments] do it then it`s fine, but if Sindh opts for it, we are considered criminals,` he said. He maintained that the KP had a law identical to that introduced by Qaim Ali Shah`s government in Sindh. `But you bind the hands of Qaim Ali Shah and restrain him from attaching similar conditions [for delegating special powers to the Rangers].

Mr Chandio devoted a considerable part of his speech to former chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. He said hehad now entered politics and would understand its ups and downs. He used to refer to Caliph Hazrat Umar every now and then but when it came to deciding the case of his own son, he avoided emulating Hazrat Umar`s example, Mr Chandio said.

He added that if ex-CJP Chaudhry had simplified the criminal justice system, he would have become the people`s hero today, but he kept handcuffing police officers only.

He urged the prime minister to implement the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in a transparent manner lest it damaged the country`s integrity. He said two provinces were openly raising objections to execution of the CPEC.

He said the Hindus were known for building institutions and we needed to revive that tradition.He said debate competitions were a productive trend that was discouraged during dictatorships. He said Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari wanted the banonstudentunionsinSindhtobe lifted. He told a questioner that if billions of rupees were recovered from Sharjeel Memon`s bungalow then one must know where that huge amount of money was kept. Mr Memon had resigned from the ministry for `personal reasons`. He said if there was evidence against him, it must be made public. He asked why Mr Memon`s name was put on the exist control list when he was already abroad.

He said the Karachi operation continued despite divergent views on it within the government. The adviser regretted the postponement of elections on reserved seats.