KARACHI: Amid a noisy protest by lawmakers belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, the Sindh Assembly on Monday once again passed the Sindh Protection of Journalists and other Media Practitioners Bill with a majority vote, rejecting Governor Imran Ismail’s objection to it.

The assembly sitting that lasted for only 40 minutes was marred by chaos as the PTI members opted for a novel way of protest by bringing what they called a symbolic ‘coffin of democracy’ on a folding charpoy into the house.

Their mode of protest, however, was rejected by Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, who said legal action against the PTI members would be initiated for “violating the sanctity of the august house”.

PTI, PPP trade barbs

The situation took an ugly turn soon after dua (prayers) when the chair did not allow Leader of the Opposition Haleem Adil Sheikh to speak on a point of order, saying he would be given the floor after the business on the agenda.

“I will not take dictation from anyone,” snapped the speaker when Mr Sheikh continued to insist on speaking on his point of order.

The house rejects governor’s objection to journalists protection bill and passes it into law with majority vote

The house wore the look of a fish market as the PTI and ruling Pakistan Peoples Party members started chanting slogans against each other’s leadership before some PTI lawmakers brought the “coffin of democracy” in the house.

The assembly security staff tried to intercept the PTI members at the entrance of the house, but the party’s female lawmakers encircled their male colleagues holding the folding charpoy warning the staff that they must not touch any of the women.

However, the chair called the security staff inside the house, who struggled with the PTI members to finally remove the charpoy. “I will take legal action against all those members who infringed the sanctity of the house,” the speaker added.

The house, however, carried all the business with no supplementary question asked during Question Hour.

Governor gives assent to four bills

The chair announced that the governor had given assent to the Sindh Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Provincial Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2021; the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Abdul Majid Bhurgari Institute of Language Engineering Bill, 2019.

The house also re-approved the Sindh Protection of Journalists and other Media Practitioners Bill, 2021 and made it a law rejecting the governor’s objections.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla, who presented the bill for reconsideration, took a dig at the PTI for not supporting the law for media persons.

Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah also criticised the PTI members for not supporting the bill.

“They [PTI] don’t want such a bill that guarantees protection of journalists and media practitioners,” he said and added that the PTI-led federal government brought ordinances to suppress the voice of journalists.

Question Hour

Earlier, answering members’ queries pertaining to the excise and taxation department during Question Hour, Minister Chawla, who also holds the E&T portfolio, said that the collection of motor vehicle tax (MVT) in the Karachi region was centralised through its main office situated at Civic Centre.

He said that 12 other branches of the National Bank of Pakistan had also been authorised to collect the MVT in Karachi.

In reply to a question, the excise minister said that none of the provincial government departments manufactured security-featured number plates.

However, he said, M/s National Radio Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC), an organisation working under the ministry of defence production, had approached the provincial government with the proposal for the supply of the security-featured registration number plates.

To another query, Minister Chawla said that registration certificates/registration booklets were to be replaced with security-featured MVR smart cards.

He stated that in this regard, an agreement/contract was signed between the E&T department and M/s Inbox Business Technologies Pvt Ltd.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2021