KARACHI: Lethargic attitude and absence of a majority of opposition members in the Sindh Assembly on Tuesday marred the private members’ day for the umpteenth time as no legislative business, including the presentation of private bills and resolutions, was carried out.

When the session started with a delay of one hour and 20 minutes, hardly two dozen lawmakers were present and the sitting was ultimately adjourned by Deputy Speaker Rehana Leghari to Friday after brief 40-minute proceedings.

The house took up the privilege motion given by Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) lawmaker Nand Kumar Goklani for getting no response from the managing director of the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) on the shortage of natural gas in the province.

Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho rose to request the chair to summon the SSGC managing director to the assembly so that the members could ask questions regarding the shortage and availability of gas in the province.

She said that the gas crisis was everybody’s issue and the privilege of the entire house had been breached.

No woman can be made Zakat Council’s chairperson, PA told

Welcoming the health minister’s suggestion, the deputy speaker called the gas utility chief to appear before the lawmakers in the committee room of the assembly on Feb 13.

She said that members from the two sides of the aisle would grill the SSGC chief and asked them to join the meeting.

Question Hour

Also on Tuesday, Question Hour proved futile as only one of the four starred questions on the zakat and ushr department, all moved by the opposition members, was taken up. The rest of the movers — Muhammad Shabbir Qureshi of the PTI, Sadaqat Hussain of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and Nusrat Sehar Abbasi of the GDA — were absent.

PTI MPA Adeeba Hasan had asked about the procedure for the appointment of the chairman of the Sindh Zakat Council and if a woman could be appointed as the council’s chairman.

Replying to her query, CM’s Adviser Fayaz Ali Butt said that under the laws the provincial government shall appoint a retired judge of the high court or a retired civil servant in BPS-20 or above as chairman of the council.

He added that there was no provision in the Sindh Zakat & Ushr Act, 2011 for the appointment of a woman as the chairperson of the council.

The next item on the assembly agenda was an adjournment motion tabled by PPP’s Sharmila Faruqui, but it was not taken up as the mover was absent.

The same went for two private bills moved by PTI’s Omer Omari who also did not turn up.

There were five resolutions of as many opposition members, but only one of them could come up, that was too partially as the deputy speaker adjourned the house due to lack of quorum while the mover was still on his feet.

In the resolution, GDA’s Goklani had condemned the formation of a committee on the federal level for creating more provinces in the country.

The deputy speaker also expressed her dismal over the absence of the opposition members in the assembly on the private members’ day, reminding them that the day was meant mainly for carrying out opposition members.

Both the leader of the house and the leader of the opposition also did not turn up.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2023