KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Friday passed two bills — The Sindh Service Tribunals (Amendment) Bill, 2014 and The Sindh Civil Servants (Regularization of Ad hoc Appointments) (Amendment) Bill, 2014 — despite opposition from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Pakistan Muslim League-Functional and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz to the latter bill.

The service tribunal amendment bill was passed into law with consensus while the other bill was approved with a majority when put to the house.

Syed Khalid Ahmad and Mohammad Hussain from the MQM, Mehtab Akbar Rashdi from the PML-F and Irfanullah Khan Marwat from PML-N opposing the amendment to Section 3 in sub-section (1) of the Sindh Civil Servants (regularization of ad hoc appointments) (amendment) Bill 2014, aimed to have taken effect on and from July 28, 1994 said that by allowing service benefits from the date of initial appointments would involve a huge sum of amount to the province which was facing financial constraint.

They also suggested that the bill be deferred for a few days until the formation of standing committees and referred it to the committee concerned for its opinion.

Senior Minister Nisar Khuhro and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Sikander Mandhro did not agree and pointed out that the bill was not aimed at benefiting the ad hoc appointees of PPP government only but all those who were working on ad hoc basis and whose previous services were not regularized and who suffered in the matter of benefits of promotion and seniority by their junior colleagues by virtue of date appointments.

The earlier bill, which was passed with consensus, aimed at compliance to the directives of the Supreme Court of Pakistan making it obligatory on the government to appoint chairman and two members for three years only in the Sindh service tribunal in consultation with the chief justice of the Sindh High Court. Amongst two members one would be advocate having seven years experience of high court while another would be from amongst the sitting civil servants in BS-20 preferably having legal background.

Before the house could take up the business from the order of the day, MQM Parliamentary Party leader Syed Sardar Ahmad by a point of order drew attention of the house towards violation of rules that calls for review on the budget every quarterly but even after passing over two quarters the budget was not included in the order of the day.

He also drew attention of the house towards non-implementation of rural-urban quota in the recruitment of teachers by the education department. He said that in Hyderabad 1,008, Mirpurkhas 350 and in Larkana 750 teachers were recruited without taking into account the constitutional provision of 40 per cent urban quota that covered Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur while 60 per cent rural quota covered rest of cities and towns of the province.

Responding to the point of order, Mr Khuhro said that during the last tenure of government 14,000 teachers were recruited while this year 20,000 teachers would be recruited by April 5 under the agreement with the World Bank, which had committed $400 million for training and salaries of the teachers.

He said there were 350 vacancies in Larkana, 750 in Mirpurkhas and 1094 in Hyderabad. The teachers would be recruited on a merit and union council basis in accordance with the requirement. He said those who had passed NTS test had been issued offer letters after verification of their documents by the department and World Bank officials, but their appointment letters would be issued later.

The minister said that those candidates who failed in the tests in Karachi and Sukkur region would have another chance to appear for NTS test for the remaining vacancies.

Mr Ahmad recalled that the quota system was introduced by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the constitution to remove the sense of deprivation among people in rural areas and as such the agreement with the World Bank could not be above the constitution.

Leader of Opposition Syed Faisal Sabzwari backed him and said that the question was whether the constitutional provision was implemented.

On the query of PPP Hasnian Mirza, Mr Ahmad read out the notifications of 1973 and 1974 regarding the quota system.

Ghulam Quadir Chandio of the PPP asked as to how much quota system was implemented in recruitment of staff in water board and other institutions in Karachi.

Mr Khuhro said that people from urban areas did not prefer to serve in rural areas and it was for this reason that local people at the UC level had been considered for the recruitment so that closed schools could be made operational.

The chair drew attention of the house to the need of taking up formal business and suggested that the issue under discussion could be raised through a call attention notice or by adjournment motion and taken up during the question hour.

A privilege motion of PML-F lawmaker Nand Kumar regarding misbehaviour of an official could not be taken up, as the mover did not press for it after being assured by the parliamentary affairs minister that it would be referred to the relevant standing committee soon.

Parliamentary Secretary for Health Dr Sikander Shoro responding to the call attention notice of Kamran Akhtar of MQM said that the cases of those blood banks found supplying water-mixed blood had been sent to court and their trail was awaited.

In response to the call attention notice of Muhammad Rashid Khilji, the senior minister said that if the building for the medical college in Hyderabad was under construction, he would ensure its early completion so that academic session could start at the earliest.

In response to the call attention notice of Khalid Bin Villayat the senior minister regretted over attitude of land department officials and misbehavior with the officials of directorate of schools (education) to get the office vacated from the civic centre within seven days. The minister said that his department suggested to the relevant authorities that the building of NJV High School, where space was available, could be used to house the directorate.

Referring to the teachers’ protest issue raised by Khalid Bin Villayat and Ashfaq Mangi, the minister said the government had resolved their issues of timescale, teaching allowance and seniority and he himself and secretary education were always available to sort out if any more issues were confronted to them. Their way of protest by staging demonstrations in Red Zone was not justifiable, he added.

Information Minister Sharjeel Memon in response to the call attention notice of PTI lawmaker Dr Seema Zia informed the house that he had already given a notice of one week to KMC and administrators of all districts and municipal commissioners to remove billboards and commercial hoardings displayed in the midst of roads and crossings causing traffic hazard.

He said there are many areas in the city which were within the KMC limits but the cantonment had displayed the billboards. He said he also had ordered action against misuse of parks and land reserved for welfare institutions, where marriage halls were functioning and offices were set up.

The Sindh Assembly session was later prorogued sine die by Governor Ishratul Ibad. Deputy Speaker Syeda Shehla Raza, who had called the house in order at 11.20am, read out the order of the governor at 2.25pm after completion of the business.