KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly, which meets here in its new hall on Thursday morning, may see legislators throwing brickbats at each other over Muttahida Quami Movement chief Altaf Hussain’s demand for carving out 20 administrative units in Pakistan if the issue will be raised through an out-of-turn resolution or by an adjournment motion.

The issue has already become a subject of heated debate in political circles.

Know more: Altaf suggests four provinces in Sindh

Another issue that can draw criticism by members of the tiny opposition is the matter of resignation of PPP lawmaker Parveen Aziz Junejo from her constituency PS-76 Dadu-III. She claims the resignation was taken from her at gunpoint by her estranged husband.

The Parliamentary Party of the Pakistan Peoples Party, which met on Thursday night at CM House, considered all options and strategy to avoid attack from the opposition that is also likely to raise drought-like situation in Thar and the floods in northern parts of Sindh.

The MQM parliamentary party, which is a coalition partner of the PPP in the government, will meet in their chamber before proceeding to the assembly hall in the morning to join the session.

Another interesting situation may arise when the PML-N-led opposition parties PML-F and NPP would ask about the fate of three PTI lawmakers — Samar Ali Khan, Khurram Sherzaman and Dr Seema Zia — who had submitted their resignation two weeks back but so far the speaker has not decided their matter, while the ‘controversial’ resignation of Parveen Aziz Junejo, a woman lawmaker elected from PS-76, which was forwarded by the PPP only last Thursday was accepted and notified.

It is not yet clear whether Abdul Razzaq of the Jamaat-i-Islami, who was notified by the Election Commission as winner after declaring the election of PTI’s Syed Hafeezuddin rigged, would turn up to be administered the oath as a member of the assembly.

On the agenda

As far as the order of the day is concerned, it has 10 items in addition to other business that may be taken up with the permission of the chair. Items on the agenda include question hour about the Zakat and Ushr deparment, privilege motion of Leader of the Opposition Shahryar Khan Mahar regarding the railway authority. The adjournment motion on the order of the day has also been moved by Mr Mahar regarding scandalising the transfer of the Sindh police chief.

The other items included laying of reports of the Council of Islamic Ideology for the years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12, and the Dow University of Health Sciences (Amendment) Ordinance 2014 before the assembly and announcement by the speaker that the governor had given assent to five bills — The provincial Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2014, The Sindh Criminal Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions & Powers) (Amendment) Bill 2014, The Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Bill, 2013, The Sindh Shaheed Recognition and Compensation Bill, 2014 and the Sindh Finance Bill, 2014.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2014