KARACHI: Returning to Sindh’s cabinet after more than six years, Sharjeel Inam Memon was sworn in as the new provincial information minister on Friday.

Mr. Memon was given the information portfolio, which was previously held by Saeed Ghani who would retain the labor and human resources portfolio.

The provincial government also denoted Transport Minister Awais Qadir Shah.

Acting Sindh Governor Agha Siraj Durrani swore in Mr Memon as provincial minister in a ceremony held at Governor House.

Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, provincial cabinet members and senior officials attended the ceremony.

While in the same position in 2016, the National Accountability Bureau filed a lawsuit against Mr. Memon and accused him of committing acts of corruption in the attribution of advertisements from the provincial government’s awareness campaigns in electronic media involving more than 5 billion rupees.

After remaining on bail for months, he was finally arrested by the NAB in October 2017 when the Sindh High Court denied his bail application. In June 2019, he was released from prison after CHS granted him bail.

He thanked the chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, and the chief minister of Sindh for their trust.

He expressed his determination to contribute to free speech and free media in the province under the decades-old party policy.

“The PPP has always given weight to this ministry [information],” he said. “It is because being a true democratic party, it believes that the citizens of the country have the right to know and express their opinion. My task as the head of this ministry will only be to to channel this practice and to help each person to do things well.

Posted in Dawn, April 23, 2022