KARACHI: Lawmakers belonging to the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf strongly protested and staged a walkout from the Sindh Assembly on Monday when the chair stopped Leader of the Opposition Haleem Adil Sheikh from raising the issue of price hike on the floor of the house.

The situation turned unpleasant in a very thinly attended session at the outset of the proceedings that started with a delay of one and half hours.

It began when the opposition leader rose and asked Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani to allow him to speak on a point of order. The chair, however, plainly denied the permission telling the opposition leader that he would be given an opportunity to speak after completion of the business on agenda.

As the opposition leader continued to insist to be allowed first to speak on price hike, the speaker made it clear that he would not take any dictation from any member. “I will allow you to speak but only after completion of the agenda,” a visibly irked speaker snapped.

Durrani’s ruling did not appease the PTI members who while chanting slogans gathered in front of the speaker’s rostrum.

The PTI protest added to the displeasure of the chair, who bitterly lamented that there was no way that member suddenly stood up and started speaking without the permission of the chair.

“I will run the house according to the rules,” he said, adjourning the proceeding for 10 minutes due to the ruckus.

Issues of land grabbing, street crime echo in Sindh Assembly

PTI members, who already had placards and posters inscribed with slogans against inflation, surrounded the speaker’s seat and shouted slogans against price hike.

When the proceedings started after the break, the speaker once again criticised the opposition members for their protest and disorder, saying the assembly met after a long time but it seemed that some members were not interested in the proceedings.

The speaker told the PTI member that they had been in the assembly for five years and asked if they would still be taught, then what was the use.

Land mafia eyeing amenity plot, PA told

The assembly took up several call attention notices presented by opposition members on many important issues including land grabbing and street crime.

In his call attention notice, PTI’s Malik Shehzad Awan said that the land mafia was trying to occupy a one-acre welfare plot at the Gate No. 1 of the Quaid-i-Azam Truck Stand at Hawkesbay.

He alleged that the amenity plot at the truck stand was being encroached upon in connivance with the authorities including Karachi Metropolitan Corporation.

The PTI MPA said that the matter was also brought into the knowledge of Local Government Minister Nasir Shah and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla, but to no avail.

Since the LG minister was not present in the assembly, Labour Minister Saeed Ghani responded to the call attention notice assuring the mover that the government would not allow anyone to occupy the plot.

Street crime

Shahana Ashar of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in her call attention notice drew the attention of the house towards increasing street crimes in Karachi and asked the provincial government as to what step were being taken to curb the menace.

She said that the city had become unsafe for everyone as criminals were roaming freely and looting people.

Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro, on behalf of the chief minister who also holds the portfolio of home department, said that modern techniques were being adopted to curb street crime in the city, adding that the street crime also occurred in developed countries.

In response to the call attention by PTI’s parliamentary party leader Khurrum Sher Zaman, the irrigation minister said that there was no shortage of wheat in the province.

Legislation

The assembly passed ‘The Sindh Kachi Abadis (Second Amendment) Bill’ into law.

The Isra University Amendment Bill and the Sindh Factories Amendment Bill were introduced. The report of the standing committee on finance on Sindh Sales Tax on Services (Amendment) Bill was also presented in the house.

The house was later adjourned to Tuesday (today) at 10am.

Question Hour

While furnishing statements and replies on lawmakers’ written and verbal queries during Question Hour, Parliamentary Secretary for Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPD) Kalsoom Akhtar Chandio said that there were 67 multiple rehabilitation centres in the province for differently-abled persons.

She said that the people with impairment in hearing were given training in different fields, including candle making, leather machine work, basic electric work, paper packing and flower making, welding and tailoring, hand embroidery, auto mechanic, plumbing and printing.

To a question by PTI’s Adeeba Hassan, she said that 97 handicapped children were registered in Karachi, 53 in Hyderabad, 37 in Sukkur, 17 in Mirpurkhas, 79 in Shaheed Benazirabad and 24 in Larkana.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2023