KARACHI, June 29: The Pakistan Peoples Party on Thursday castigated the Chief Minister, Dr Arbab Rahim, for issuing “absurd, abusive, and derogatory” statement against opposition MPAs in the Sindh assembly.
It called the statement manifestation of a “sick mind” and demanded action against the chief minister for degrading the sanctity of the house and its members.
This was stated by the Secretary General of the PPP, Sindh, Nafees Siddiqui, in a statement.He accused the chief minister of crossing limits of decent conduct and called for his sacking for making what he termed as indecent and wild remarks against opposition members, especially the ladies.
The chief minister’s reported statement only confirmed that Dr Rahim, allegedly, patronised and encouraged those who indulged in indecent behaviour, said Mr Siddiqui.He also condemned the registration of bogus cases against five MPAs of the party at the behest of the chief minister Sindh to coerce opposition members.
Mr Siddiqui was of the view that the chief minister’s statement was an attempt to scuttle the façade of democracy before the next elections and pave way for authoritarian and autocratic rule.1
He claimed that Dr Rahim was trying to show to the establishment that he was the strong man who could get the desired results, and a true incarnation of Jam Sadiq Ali.
Mr Siddiqui said that lodging of a FIR against opposition leader in Sindh Assembly Nisar Khuhro and four other PPP MPAs by ruling party member Ishwarlal was an afterthought and a tool for harassing the voice of dissent and those who challenged the government on principles.
The provincial chief of the Peoples Lawyers Forum, Shahadat Awan advocate, maintained that the FIR lodged on a private complaint was defective because it was lodged one week after the incident, and also because it was against the rules, which said that no such action could be taken against any member without special permission of the speaker.
Mr Awan pointed out that in Mr Ishwarlal's complaint, he had accepted that the incident had taken place within the “precincts” of the assembly and referred to the Provincial Assembly of Sindh Privileges Act, 1972 in this regard.
Precincts, he said included the assembly chambers' building courtyard and gardens appurtenant thereto, and included hall, members' lobbies, galleries, rooms of the speaker and deputy speakers, etc.
