LARKANA, July 8: The Larkana district council passed a no-trust motion against District Naib Nazim and Convener Munawwar Ali Abro on Saturday in its special session held under tight security.

Two nazims of the Khushhal Pakistan Panel (KPP), Bashir Ahmed Shaikh and Mohammed Hassan Kalhoro of union councils Pathan and Yaro Lakhir, moved the motion on Tuesday (July 4).

The motion was moved under Section 47 of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, levelling 10 allegations against the convener.

The movers alleged that the convener had presided over the sessions of May 23 and 24 in violation of the SLGO-2001. The naib nazim had failed to convene a mandatory session of the council in February and overstepping the laws, had converted a regular session into a requisite meeting, which he could not do according to the SLGO-2001, they said.

Senior presiding officer Badaruddin Abbasi had summoned the special session under Section 24’s sub-Section 5 of the SLGO for voting.

The members of Awam Dost Panel (23) did not turn up while the Sindh National Front-backed four members attended the meeting, but did not cast their vote in protest.

Nothing was audible in the house when Bashir Ahmed Shaikh stood up and started reading the no-confidence motion. Pro-SNF members Fayyaz Bhutto and Apa Khursheed Talat Khatyan were interrupting him calling the session illegal in the absence of the district naib nazim.

Amid pandemonium, the mover read out the move while the district nazim present in the council kept laughing at the pro-SNF members.

Fayyaz Bhutto of the SNF said that the council could not continue its proceedings as the district naib nazim was on leave till July 11 and was not present in the house for the clarification of the allegations.

But presiding officer Badar Abbasi ruling out his arguments said that neither the secretary local government had received a leave application nor it had been granted. Later, Mr Bhutto produced a letter of the district naib nazim appointing him as his agent in the process.

The presiding officer allowed him and the process began under the tight security where no member was permitted to carry mobile phone.

After counting votes in the presence of the district naib nazim’s agent, he announced that 34 votes had been polled in favour of non-confidence motion.

Fayyaz Bhutto objected to two unstamped and unsigned ballot papers recovered from the ballot box during counting.

The ADP members abstained from the session. After the counting the presiding officer told this reporter that proceedings of the no-confidence motion would be sent to the Election Commission for issuing a notification.

Outsiders were allowed in the special session of the district council, but journalists were allowed to attend it only through special passes.

The pro-Khushhal Pakistan Panel (KPP) members had been brought back in a coaster from Quetta where they had gone on a pleasure trip, sources said.

Addressing a press conference, the unseated district naib nazim, Munawwar Ali, termed the entire exercise unfair and alleged that the presiding officer had been a party in the move.

He alleged that the no-confidence motion had been floated only after he had blocked the KPP members’ corruption.

Two members had been promised of big development schemes and offered a huge amount for voting against him, he said and added that the district government’s money had been used for no-confidence move against him.