KARACHI: Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani on Friday adjourned the sitting till Monday without touching the day’s business when he found just a couple of lawmakers present in the house even an hour after the scheduled time.

Mr Durrani expressed displeasure over the lawmakers’ lack of interest in the proceedings soon after the passage of the province’s budget for the next fiscal year.

Works and Services Minister Nasir Shah admitted that running the session and ensuring quorum in the house was the collective responsibility of all members and “today our members were also fewer in numbers and we cannot be absolved from cancelling the proceedings”.

Transport Minister Nasir Shah says Murad will continue to function as Sindh chief minister

Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Firdous Shamim Naqvi claimed that the government wanted to continue the session only to ensure an influential female member, who is in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau, stayed in Karachi.

“The session should have been called off after the passage of the budget and finance bill, but it is being run only to facilitate the aunty,” he said in a thinly veiled reference to Faryal Talpur, who is in the custody of NAB in the fake accounts case.

He blamed the ruling party in the province for running the assembly’s session at the expense of taxpayers’ money to ensure Ms Talpur, who was brought to Karachi from Islamabad in compliance with her production orders, stayed in the city.

He claimed that one-day session of the assembly cost Rs3.2 million. “We condemn this sinister plot.”

Rumours of PPP govt’s fall rejected

Talking to reporters outside the assembly hall, Minister Nasir Shah said Murad Ali Shah would remain the chief minister of Sindh and those who were dreaming about the present provincial government’s fall would find their dreams shattered.

“Murad Ali Shah is chief minister of Sindh and will remain so. Their dreams will get shattered because PPP’s government in Sindh is the strongest of its kind in the country.”

He criticised the opposition parties in Sindh who “get their sherwanis stitched” whenever “fake” reports appeared in the media claiming imposition of governor’s rule in Sindh.

He said the PPP leaders and cadres were ready for accountability but “we are against political victimisation”.

Minister Shah said the provincial budget was a ray of hope for the people of Sindh, who had virtually been crushed by the federal government’s “oppressive” financial policies.

“Despite everything, the fact that the federal government has delayed transfer of our share, we have tried to make the life of people in Sindh relatively better,” said Mr Shah.

He said the previous federal government too had paid less than Sindh’s due share, while during the current year, Islamabad’s policies had affected Sindh’s development portfolio gravely.

He said that the multiparty conference held recently in Islamabad was a nightmare for the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s federal government as despite being an alliance of various mindsets it was unified on its stance to struggle for “true democratic order” in the country.

He said the issue regarding replacing the Senate chairman was first of many such issues that the combined opposition parties would raise and play their part.

He said that the federal government was stretched to the level that it wanted to keep its majority intact by promising a greater share in the cabinet to certain “gentlemanly” coalition partners based in Sindh.

‘PPP doesn’t want to topple federal govt’

Mr Shah said that the PPP did not want to harm the democratic order. “We do not want to send the government packing, but, we want to make them realise ground realities of the country.”

He said those who had opposed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government’s amnesty scheme had brought forth their own amnesty scheme to benefit their own people. “We don’t hope for better conditions in future, but people will decide the fate of this government.”

He said Asad Umar, the ex-finance minister of the PTI, had himself given a verdict against his own government.

Opposition Leader Naqvi said the day’s session should have been scheduled after Friday prayers, but it was timed so early as treasury benches gave little value to the private members’ day.

He said his role was to highlight the issues of public importance, which he was doing. He said his notes prepared for his speech on budget had been stolen on purpose but the theft would benefit no one but the government.

Locust issue

About locusts in Sindh, Mr Naqvi said it was a grave issue for which the federal government could extend its help if desired by the provincial government.

“We are ready to go along with the Sindh government to seek assistance from the federation,” he said.

He referred to his party’s federal government as saying spray worth tens of millions of rupees had been done in Balochistan, etc, where locusts initially emerged.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2019