KARACHI: Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Shaharyar Mahar on Monday criticised working of the assembly for not following rules of the procedure of the provincial assembly.

Mr Shaharyar, who belongs to the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, told journalists in his assembly chamber that parliamentary practices were being ignored.

Referring to Rule 28(2) pertaining to holding of an assembly session every month except July in order to complete no fewer than 100 days in a parliamentary year, Mr Mahar said the schedule was not being followed and the session was summoned whenever there was some government business.

According to him, the issues related to the people of the province are not being given due importance. If the opposition made any attempt to highlight pressing issues during the session summoned abruptly, the opposition lawmakers were given the assurance that they would be provided an opportunity to raise those issues after the completion of the business from the order of the day but then the sessions were adjourned abruptly without any prior warning.

The PML-F lawmaker then referred to Rule 135(2)(3) of the rules of procedure of the provincial assembly that says any resolution passed by the assembly has to be implemented within a month from the date of its communication by the assembly secretariat to the relevant department that in response has to apprise the assembly of action taken on the resolution. But, he said, even the assembly itself did not follow this rule.

Citing an example, he said: “The assembly had passed a resolution regarding the formation of a committee to visit and investigate the Thar issue on Nov 11, 2014. But the government did not apprise the house of this resolution even when the assembly was in session on Dec 10 and the committee has not been formed till now.”

The leader of the opposition said questions being asked under Rule 39 by lawmakers were not replied to properly as they were taken up by the speaker at will.

Recalling the walkout from the house staged by the opposition on Dec 10 over carrying out legislation in a hurry, Mr Mahar said as per order of the day, “The Sindh Public-Private Partnership (Amendment) Ordinance” was only to be laid in the house but the parliamentary affairs minister introduced a bill on the subject out of turn. Although the opposition staged a walkout in protest against the move, the treasury benches took up its consideration and passed the bill, he said, adding that even the “quorum was incomplete” that rendered the act illegal.

He said that the post of the public accounts committee chairman was with the Sindh government unlike other provincial and federal governments where such bodies were headed by the opposition.

Even the seating arrangement in the house was against basic parliamentary practices, Mr Mahar said. He explained that leader of the house and leader of the opposition sit across each other or side by side in assemblies across the world and also in Pakistan. But the seating arrangement in the Sindh Assembly building was different despite the fact that there were 76 members in the opposition, he said, adding that leader of the opposition was made to sit in a corner while the leader of house sits in front.

Mr Mahar said there were many other similar issues but in short it was regretted that the assembly was being run as a private house of the speaker with no regard to rules or basic parliamentary practices.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2014