KARACHI, Dec 16: The leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly, Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, claimed on Friday that Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim had given his consent to the Kalabagh Dam project provided no canal was taken out from the dam, and that priority should be given to the construction of Bhasha Dam.
“As we were going to take up the issue, Irfan Gul Magsi, who was presiding over the session as a member of the panel of chairmen, fearing embarrassment to the treasury benches, abruptly adjourned the house till Dec 21.
Mr Khuhro, later addressing a press conference in his chamber, said one reason why the house was adjourned directly for five days instead of 15 minutes or half an hour, was that Mr Magsi, who had been deprived of a ministry in the last reshuffle, was again an aspirant for a seat in the cabinet.
But, he cannot get the job through such appeasement, said Khuhro.
The chief minister cannot absolve himself by giving a policy statement in the house and later consenting to the federal government’s idea, he said, adding that the government had to face the people’s reaction on the dam issue, which would be beyond comprehension. The people would not tolerate the Kalabagh Dam, he pointed out.
Recalling factors of the uproar in the house, he said that after offering Fateha for departed souls, he rose on a point of order to ask whether the question hour had been deferred yesterday for today, as no ruling had been given by the speaker in this regard nor had he referred the matter of oath affirmation to the new members, but on a point of order, he directly allowed the chief minister to give a policy statement.
Besides, Mr Khuhro said that even a time for deliberations on the water reservoir issue was not fixed. It meant that ministers would daily start a general discussion on the water reservoir issue and would skip the questions hour.
He said instead of listening to his point of order, Mr Magsi behaved in a manner, which was inappropriate of the chair, leading to a disorderly atmosphere in the house.
“They have certain motives. They were in a hurry to affirm oath to the new members elected through “rigging”. The chief election commissioner had himself caught a presiding lady officer with ballot-paper books in her scarf, which was also shown on TV.
He said that under rules 211 and 212, the speaker and the persons presiding over the session in his absence had ample power to rule out any matter, but only after listening to it.
Mr Magsi was not only unprepared to listen to the point of order, but he also adopted a threatening attitude, said Khuhro. “He should have behaved when he was occupying the seat, which the founder of the nation Quaid-i-Azam and later on many eminent leaders had used.”
Mr Khuhro said the session was summoned by the government and it was their responsibility to come on time, produce quorum and carry out business in the house.
KARACHI, Dec 16: The leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly, Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, claimed on Friday that Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim had given his consent to the Kalabagh Dam project provided no canal was taken out from the dam, and that priority should be given to the construction of Bhasha Dam.
