KARACHI: Pillion ban to be lifted on 30th, City Council told
By Latif Baloch
KARACHI, Nov 25: Amid walkout by opposition members in the City Council Karachi on Saturday, Convenor Nasreen Jalil announced that the ban on pillion riding would be lifted on November 30 and that no one caught violating the ban would be sent to jail in future.
The opposition staged a walkout when it was denied permission to take up the issue of pillion riding by presenting its identical resolutions calling for an immediate lifting of the ban.
It termed the presiding officer’s attitude ‘aggressive’, but a calm and well-composed convenor told the protesting members that she would not succumb to their pressure.
She maintained that she had to deal with the opposition’s onslaught strictly because of its negative approach and in order to uphold and maintain dignity of the house.
The resolutions had been submitted by the opposition in the previous sitting of the session but the convenor, Ms Jalil had ruled that since the issue did not fall under the ambit of the city district government Karachi, it was pertinent to seek the views of relevant authorities on the issue. The opposition, not satisfied by her contention, had continued to insist on holding a debate on the resolution, prompting the chair to adjourn the session for a week.
On Saturday again, when the house resumed its session, opposition members tried to raise the issue and get the resolutions discussed. Pre-empting any repeat of the rumpus, the convener told the house that she had contacted Adviser to the CM on Home Waseem Akhtar this morning and was informed that the ban had been imposed as part of the security measures taken for the peaceful holding of the defence exhibition, Ideas 2006, in the city. She said that the adviser had assured her that the ban on pillion riding would be lifted on November 30.
Referring to the public sufferings caused by the ban, she pointed out that it was not applicable to journalists, women, elderly citizens and children. She further assured the house that in future, no one would be sent to prison for violating the ban unless he was suspected of having involved in some criminal activity.
After making the announcement, she expressed the hope that the opposition would no more seek a debate on the issue, and asked members to take up the normal agenda.
At the outset, when the opposition tried to move its resolutions, treasury member Masood Mehmood raised the objection, pointing out that the council could not discuss a resolution against a decision taken by provincial government.
The opposition members argued that the resolutions were on a vital issue concerning every citizen of Karachi. They pointed out that the ban on pillion riding was causing immense hardship to all citizens. Regarding the convenor’s announcement, they recalled that the house had been informed in the previous sitting that the ban was aimed at curbing street crime but today, it was described as part of security for Ideas 2006 event.
The convenor replied that there could be several factors to be taken into consideration while taking a decision. She then asked the opposition to stop talking more on the subject.
Taking her words as ‘aggressive attitude’, all opposition members, led by Mr Saeed Ghani and Rafiq Ahmed, staged a token walkout to register their protest.
The convenor then tabled a motion calling for amendment to the bye-laws advertisement fee, tax and land revenue of the CDGK. The house constituted a committee to hear the objections in this regard.
Opposition members, who had since returned to the house, sought due representation in the committee, proposing the name of Zahid Saeed. The treasury rejected the demand and opposed the nomination. Subsequently, the resolution was adopted on a majority basis. However, when the convenor ruled that it was unanimous as the opposition neither opposed nor supported it, there was an uproar from the opposition benches.
Opposition members urged the chair not to set a bad precedent by declaring it a consensus resolution. The convenor impressed upon the members to evolve a consensus wherever possible, and adjourned the house for 10 minutes to allow time for a consensus resolution on the use of Rs9.65 million by UC members.
Her ruling created a pleasant atmosphere in the house for some time but when the house reassembled after the break and the resolution was read out, tension gripped the house again as Ms Shamim Mumtaz from opposition benches demanded that women councillors be allowed to use funds in their respective UCs according to the needs. Objections to the resolution were also raised by Mohammad Islam and Fazlur Rehman. Finding no way to convince the opposition, the chair declared the resolution adopted with majority.
Treasury members Asif Siddique and Abdul Jalil and Opposition members Sheikh Mehbub and Imran Saeed Baghpati were among others who took part in the debate during the day’s deliberations. The council will now meet on December 4.
