KARACHI: The discussion on the 2015-16 budget in the Sindh Assembly on the second day was a lacklustre business. Two of the 11 speakers — Heer Ismail Soho and Waseemuddin Qureshi of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement — became highly emotional when referring to the ongoing targeted operation in Karachi. They said the operation had removed the difference between criminals and innocent people.

“W are not opposed to arrests of terrorists but we are against carrying out raids and picking up people and taking them away without telling their families about their whereabouts. MQM workers are being arrested uncalled for. Don’t commit excesses to the extent which could lead to the situation similar to that of the creation of Bangladesh,” said Ms Soho.

Also read: Karachi operation to be taken to its logical end: army chief

Recalling her personal woes, Ms Soho asked why her husband was taken away on May 11 and treated as a terrorist and after detaining him for 80 days, he was cleared and released. Who would be made accountable for the agony she suffered because of his arrest and media trial. Security agencies personnel picked up people they wanted and later cleared them, she said.

Referring to the budget, she compared the proposed ADP in the new budget with the last year’s. She said the people wanted to know why Rs42 billion was not utilised for the implementation of development schemes. Most of the development funds were misappropriated. The new budget was nothing but jugglery of words, she said. The house should be informed about the fate of the approved 586 development schemes of the education, health, local bodies, cultural and other sectors, which were part of the 2014-15 ADP, but dropped from the new ADP.

‘Why Rs42 billion was not utilised for the implementation of development schemes’

Waseemuddin Qureshi said that their 90 party workers had been missing while scores of others were taken away by law enforcement agencies without telling their families where they were kept. He said the MQM was instrumental in calling for the Karachi operation, but a committee which was supposed to be constituted to oversee the operation was yet to be formed. He asked the chief minister to inform the house who had stopped him from constituting the committee.

Mr Qureshi warned the rulers of Sindh that the fire which had reached the MQM, if not put out today, would take the rulers of Sindh in its grip tomorrow.

Nusrat Sultan of the PPP initiating discussion on the budget said as the government had taken care of the needs of the common man in the budget, it could be termed a people-friendly budget. Greeting the chief minister and the finance minister, she highlighted the need to make Mirpurkhas a model city and to set up another girls college and to add a cancer ward to the Mirpurkhas hospital.

Rana Ansar of the MQM said that not a single scheme presented by opposition parties, including the MQM, in the pre-budget discussion in the assembly, had been included in the new budget. “On the contrary, the schemes of our constituencies which were part of the ADP of 2014-15 have been dropped,” she said.

Saira Shaliani of the PPP said major allocations earmarked for the various sectors were directly related to the common man as such it was the people’s budget. Pointing out the needs of her constituency in Jacobabad district, she said there were a lot of problems being faced by the people, which called for a special package of development to address their grievances.

Khurshid Ahmad Junejo of the PPP said the government should expedite implementation of energy projects to meet the power needs. He said in the wind corridor power plants could be installed. He said hurdles were being created by Nepra and asked it to give an appropriate tariff so that foreign investors could invest in power projects. He also drew the attention of the government to the need to release funds to the six universities in Sindh for their smooth working.

Mehtab Akbar Rashdi of the PML-N said she had noted that the development budget was not being utilised fully, but the government had not fixed the responsibility on any officer or the department, depriving the people of the benefits of the schemes.

She said that in Sindh youths were committing suicide due to pressure of unemployment, the education system had been destroyed and health facilities were almost non-existent and the cities were without civic facilities, even clean drinking water was not available to them.

Khurram Sherzaman of the PTI said Karachi was one of the few big cities of the world, but its conditions were worsening as no planning had been done which was vital for such metropolitan cities. The authorities had failed even to arrange transport and meet the water needs of the people.

He also demanded that the Rangers had pointed out that in Karachi Rs230 billion was being collected illegally, it should be discussed in the house to identify the people behind the scam.

Ghazala Sial of the PPP said her party had served the people which was why the people always reposed their confidence in the PPP by electing them as their representatives.

Dr Sikander Shoro of the PPP said from where they could bring a budget which could satisfy the opposition and asked the opposition why it did not demand that the federal government pay Sindh its due share. He said Sindh was facing very bad loadshedding despite the province produced lion’s share in gas. He said the PPP when came to power provided jobs to people and would continue to do the same. He said the opposition could not muster support of the people by raising non-issues.

Jamal Ahmad of the MQM, the last speaker of the day, asked under what law the law enforcement agencies were taking away people without informing their families about it. He said if anyone was involved in crime, he should be produced in court and tried instead keeping him away for months.

He said there was a serious crisis of water and electricity and if the law and order situation worsened in Karachi, that would be for want of water and electricity.

The assembly session, which was called to order at 11.20am by Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, was adjourned at 2.25pm to reassemble on Thursday at 10am.

MQM resolution

MQM lawmaker Muhammad Hussain submitted a resolution in the Assembly Secretariat about the remarks of Defence Minister Khwaja Asif against the Mohajirs. Mr Hussain drew the attention of the house to it and sought permission to present the resolution.

The speaker said that under the rules no other business could be taken up during the discussion on budget in the house for five days. After the completion of the discussion on the budget, the resolution could be taken into consideration.

Published in Dawn June 18th, 2015

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