KARACHI, Aug 26: The special session of the Sindh Assembly, in session since Friday, resumes on Wednesday morning a day’s break. It will be a private members’ day, in lieu of Tuesday, as declared by Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza during Monday proceedings.

The order of the day includes taking up of seven private resolutions submitted by Syed Javed Hussain Shah, Anwar Ahmed Khan Mahar, Saleem Khursheed Khokhar and Sahrjeel Memon of the Pakistan People’s Party and Nusrat Bano Seher Abbasi of the Pakistan Muslim League-F.

The resolutions were included in the agenda after balloting of all the resolutions submitted by various members of the house.

Besides some adjournment motions, five motions submitted by Arif Mustafa Jatoi, of the National People’s Party.

These motions pertain to a water shortage for agricultural purposes, bringing down wheat flour prices to Rs10 per kg, reversing the denationalisation of the KESC and Hesco, etc.

A motion likely to be taken up during the session pertains to the provision of relief to those who were the hardest hit by the phenomenal increase in the prices of oil, gas and essential items. Yet another motion submitted with the house secretary seeks rehabilitation of victims of a recent fire that erupted in Hyderabad.

The private resolution submitted by Syed Javed Hussain Shah demands revival of the Keti Bunder project while another resolution submitted by Anwar Ahmad Khan Mahar calls for fixing the rate of a 40-kg wheat bag at Rs900 through allocation of Rs275 per bag subsidy.

A resolution submitted by a minority MPA, Saleem Khurshid Khokhar, demands an increase in the number of minorities’ seats in the National and provincial assemblies. Sharjeel Memon’s resolution urges the government to issue directives to the multinational firms concerned for employing local people in coal exploration on Sindh’s soil.

Ms Nusrat Bano Seher Abbasi’s resolution stresses concrete steps to ensure availability of essential commodities during Ramazan. The eight-point order of the day also includes the question hour during which members’ queries about population welfare and food departments will be responded.

The parliamentary parties of the PPP, MQM, ANP and those of the combined opposition led by Jam Madad Ali of the PML-F will meet in their respective chambers a little before commencement of the house proceedings to finalise their strategies for the session.

Although the combined opposition has a strength of just 18 members — coming from PML-F, PML-Q and NPP — in a House of 168, it has been playing its due role in the house by raising pressing issues of public importance. Arif Mustafa Jatoi and Masroor Jatoi of the NPP; besides Syeda Marvi Rashdi and Nusrat Abbasi of the PML-F who have reached the elected house for the first time, have been keeping themselves in limelight by taking active part in the house business.

For the Sept 6 presidential election, the speaker will be summoning a new session. Keeping this in view, it is expected that the proceedings of the ongoing special session are more likely to remain without any fireworks. The house has already passed a resolution for the nomination of PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari unanimously.

There seems to be no likelihood of any member coming out with a motion under rule 211 for considering an amendment to the SLGO.

Sources close to the PPP say that moving such a motion was still on the cards, though not during the next few sessions, arguing that the local government ordinance inherited structural defects and institutional flaws that have weakened the authority of federating units. They say that a motion to seek amendment to the SLGO is now likely to be moved after the presidential elections.