KARACHI, April 29: The combined opposition in the City Council has decided to resign en bloc from 33 committees fearing a possible physical assault and a threat to their lives from treasury members belonging to the MQM-backed Haq Parast group during the upcoming meetings.
“We will tender our resignations from all the 33 committees of the City Council on Monday. If treasury members can attack us in open sessions of the City Council, you can imagine what they can do in closed-door meetings of the City Council committees,” the leader of the opposition in the City Council, Saeed Ghani, told Dawn on Sunday evening.
Some treasury members beat up several opposition members, including women, on April 26. A press photograph of a Haq Parast member, Salman Baloch, shown seeking to lash a cowering woman member with his belt, provoked such a public outcry that he was later barred from attending next three sessions of the City Council. The opposition cried foul and said the punishment was not proportional to the crime allegedly committed by the City Council member.
Mr Ghani said that the resignation decision was taken in a meeting of the combined opposition groups held at the office of Al-Khidmat group late on Saturday.
He said that the meeting took strong note of violence against the opposition and observed that there was a strong possibility that the treasury members might assault opposition members during the closed-door proceedings of the committees in order to suppress their voice.
“Therefore, all the participants unanimously decided to quit the committees,” he said.
Mr Ghani, who belongs to the PPP-backed Awam Dost group, said that the meeting also condemned what he described as a cosmetic action against the Haq Parast councillor Salman Baloch and observed that he should be disqualified for assaulting woman councillors.
The meeting also condemned the alleged biased attitude of City Naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil to whom the opposition members will submit their resignations.
Ms Jalil, however, remained unconvinced. Referring to the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, Ms Jalil said that it was mandatory for every council member to become a member of one of the committees.
“The Opposition is merely trying to escape from work. They are enjoying all the benefits and perks associated with their position but are not willing to work for the betterment of Karachi.”
She said the decision whether or not to accept the resignations of the opposition would be taken in accordance with the rules.
