KARACHI, March 9: Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmad Khuhro has said that the Treasury benches have always been evading a debate on substantive items of public interest.

Addressing a press conference in his chamber after the requisition session was prorogued on Friday, he regretted that the Treasury benches used its majority once again tried to skip the substantive items on the agenda for the Friday session although the order of the day had been worked out in consultation with the law minister.

Referring to the issue of quorum, Mr Khuhro pointed out that according the prescribed rules, whether the House was requisitioned by the opposition or summoned by the governor, it was the joint responsibility of both the sides to complete the quorum.

Even in a requisitioned session, he added, all business with the exception of privilege and adjournment motions, was scheduled in the order of the day by the government side. He questioned the rational behind the Treasury side’s moves to get the relevant rules suspended, and said that the motive was clear i.e. to avoid deliberations on the substantive issue.

Mr Khuhro said this was the very reason that the opposition was insisting on amending the Rules of Business but the motion No 2 of the special committee pertaining to the proposed amendments was still pending before the house.

He argued that why the opposition should wait for deliberations on its substantive business when the House was in a requisitioned session. “What is the justification for spending a huge amount of Rs1.5 million a day out of the public exchequer if the government is not at all interested in taking up issues on the agenda?”

The opposition leader also regretted that Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim had resorted to giving such remarks that “… firing took place during the by-election… and the assembly is not a police station where firing could be deliberated upon…”

“If the matter of firing and rigging could not be taken up on the floor of the house, where else should these be taken up?” Mr Khuhro asked, and retorted that in a scenario where the entire world had focused on the upcoming general elections in Pakistan and expecting them to be free, fair and transparent, what message the incidents like firing in by-elections here would send to the world community. He recalled that 13 opposition activists had been killed in the earlier by-elections. “This makes it quite clear that free, fair and transparent elections cannot be held as long as Gen Pervez Musharraf and Arbab Ghulam Rahim are there,” he added.

Maulana Omar Sadiq, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Makhdoom Jameeluz Zaman and other legislators were present at the press conference.