KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sikander Mandhro has said that the ongoing Rangers-led targeted operation in Karachi is not aimed against any specific party, ethnic entity or religious group. “It is being carried out to take terrorists, including hit men, to task without considering which party or group they belong to,” he said, adding that the provincial government believed that a terrorist was only a terrorist.

Dr Mandhro was responding to a calling attention notice of Muttahida Qaumi Movement lawmaker Mohammed Hussain in the Sindh Assembly session on Monday. The lawmaker claimed that innocent workers and sympathisers of his party as well as police personnel were losing their lives in the operation.

The victims associated with or supporting the MQM mostly belonged to Orangi Town, Qasba, Aligarh and Nazimabad, he claimed, and complained that not a single hit man could be arrested during the operation.

The law minister contested the lawmakers claims citing the official figures and area-wise details of targeted killing incidents and arrests made in such cases.

He reminded the lawmaker that in the incidents of targeted killings that had taken place in Orangi Town, Qasba Aligarh and Nazimabad since 2013, a total of 12 MQM activists and 27 policemen had lost their lives and 33 suspects were arrested. The minister offered to the lawmaker details of the relevant official reports.

However, Mr Hussain termed it ‘a fake report’ and told the house that he would bring with him the date-wise details of such incidents and provide it to the minister.

Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, who called the house in order at 10.30am, reminded the MPA that there could be no discussion on a calling attention notice.

Speaking on his call attention notice Engineer Sabir Qaimkhani of the MQM claimed that conditions in Hyderabad were deteriorating due to non-implementation of development schemes relating to health, education and civic infrastructure.

He said that out of an allocation of Rs479 million in the 2007-08 budget, only Rs438 million was released and currently Hyderabad was facing a shortfall of Rs1,032 million under the head of development.Mohammed Saleem Rajput, also an MQM lawmaker, in his call attention notice took up the issue of unpaid salaries of local government employees in Sukkur over the past 18 months. He also claimed that recruitment in the LGs in Sukkur was being made on political grounds.

Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah told the house that the provincial government was taking special interest in the development of Hyderabad and during the current year, it had allocated Rs1,940 million for the city under this head. A total of Rs3,650 million had been allocated and Rs2,490 million released over the last five years, he added.

Responding to another call attention notice of Nishat Mohammed Zia Qadri of the MQM, Senior Minister for Education and Literacy Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that a school in Green Town in Karachi was demolished during an operation to retrieve the land from land mafia.

The minister said that the operation was carried out during winter vacation. He said the governor had already ordered rebuilding of the school and classes would be resumed in the new building in due course of time.

Law Minister Dr Mandhro, responding to the adjournment motion of Leader of the Opposition Shaharyar Khan Mahar assured the house that the increase in the rate of drainage cess would be reviewed at a cabinet meeting to be held tomorrow (Tuesday).

Minister for Information Sharjeel Inam Memon replied that funds to the local governments were being released as per the allocations but due to over-recruitment during the period of nazims, salaries and pension had become a serious issue.

The house deferred two bills, one pertaining to the Thar Development Authority and the other to the Kohistan Development Authority, to the next session on the request of Dr Mandhro.

The chair adjourned the deliberations at 12:30pm till Tuesday morning.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2015

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