QUETTA: Balochistan Assembly Speaker Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo has asked the opposition parties to withdraw the application they submitted for the requisition of a session of the assembly.
Members of the opposition parties want the provincial assembly to discuss various issues, including the outbreak of coronavirus in the province.
They also claim the provincial government has ignored them in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and say they want to raise this issue in the assembly.
Speaker Bizenjo contacted the leader of the opposition in the assembly Advocate Malik Sikandar Khan and other opposition parties’ members by phone and discussed the matter with them.
According to officials of the assembly, the speaker informed the opposition leader that in the prevailing situation holding a session of the assembly was not possible.
He said convening a session of the assembly would be dangerous not only for its members, but also for its officials and security and media personnel.
“We all must follow social distancing rules,” the speaker said.
He requested the opposition leader and members of other opposition parties to withdraw their application for requisition of the assembly session.
The opposition leader told the speaker that he would discuss the issue with other opposition members and a decision would be taken soon.
Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2020