KARACHI, April 11: The City Council in a resolution adopted on Wednesday expressed concern over the ongoing load-shedding which has affected all segments of the population.
The resolution moved by the Treasury on Tuesday called for urgent steps to overcome the crisis as it was casting a negative impact on the economy of the country. It could not be passed due to lack of quorum forcing the presiding officer to postpone the session for a day.
Earlier, the Opposition members submitted an amendment resolution on the Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation’s privatisation which was turned down by the convenor Ms Nasreen Jalil on the ground it was a replicated one and she recalled her previous ruling that the issue did not come under the purview of the city government.
But the Opposition members did not agree, saying that they had every right to debate any matter related to the city.
They repeated their arguments that the Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation (KESC) privatisation was the main cause of the persisting electricity crisis and pressed the convenor to table their amended resolution for discussion.
The presiding officer rejected the Opposition’s arguments and tabled the Treasury’s resolution for debate.
Upon this all Opposition members stood up and raised anti-KESC slogans. The Treasury members also shouted slogans. Both sides ignored the convenor’s warnings.
The convenor tabled the Treasury’s resolution for voting amid slogans and it was adopted by a majority of members by raising their hands. Immediately after adoption of the resolution, the convenor adjourned the session which lasted only 15 minutes.
Though the convenor adjourned the session and left the house, the Treasury and Oppposition stayed and shouted slogans.
Later addressing a Press conference, Ms Nasreen Jalil said she would not turn the City Council into a political arena and advised the Opposition to devote themselves to public welfare instead of wasting their time in agitational politics.
Ms Jalil who is also Naib Nazim said that she would welcome any public related issue if it is submitted in the house. She said that the session called on April 10 had been specially summoned to discuss the power crisis in the City. She accused the Opposition of raising the privatisation issue to score political points.
The Naib Nazim pointed out that she had repeatedly reminded the Opposition the SLGO rules which did not allow the house to discuss issues “which do not come under its purview.”
The Haq Parast Group leaders Asif Siddique and Masood Mehmood charged that the Opposition had always sabotaged the house agenda by raising irrelevant issues in the house.
They accused the Opposition of creating chaos in the house to achieve political objectives and that they were not interested in the city’s development.
They went on to say that had the Opposition cooperated on Tuesday, the quorum would have been completed and the session would not have been extended.
OPPOSITION: At a joint Press conference Opposition leaders Saeed Ghani and Sheikh Mehbubur Rehman criticised the convenor’s attitude, saying that the Opposition members were not being allowed to express their views on the electricity issue.
Alleging that the convenor was playing a partial role, they said that every proposal of the Opposition was bulldozed by sheer force of the Treasury’s majority. Also present in the Press conference Al-Khidmat leaders Ramzan Awan and Abdul Razzak.
