KARACHI, Feb 22: Members’ demand for Sindh to be declared ‘calamity-hit area’ and their impassioned call for a special relief package for the rain-hit people of Sindh reverberated in the requisitioned session of the Sindh Assembly on Saturday.

The House deliberated upon three motions pertaining to the widespread torrential rains that have wreaked havoc in almost the entire province.

The debate, however, remained inconclusive as the Speaker, Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah, adjourned the session for the day at about 3.15pm. The debate will resume on Tuesday.

Besides the movers — Qamar Mansoor from the treasury benches and Abdullah Murad from the opposition side — four MPAs from the treasury benches and five from the opposition side spoke on the motions. Earlier, the Speaker accepting the movers’ request under Rule 112 to be allowed to move their motions out of turn. After finding the motions in order, the House unanimously agreed to hold a debate.

The House was told by the movers that though the rains were a good omen for the province which was desperately in need of the heavy down pour in the wake of years of famine-like situation, they had wreaked havoc on the people, as well as the agriculture and overall economy, of Sindh. They pointed out that there had been widespread devastation in urban and rural areas of the province, particularly Gadap, coastal areas of Thatta, Hyderabad, Nawabshah and Khairpur.

They said that a large number of people had lost all of their valuables, property, cattle and livestock, agricultural produce and crop, etc. due to the unprecedented rains and flooding. They further said that an unspecified number of people had lost their lives to the natural calamity.

They regretted that the authorities had failed to take appropriate measures to provide relief to the victims. They said arrangements to flush out rain water from submerged areas proved inadequate. The relevant authorities’ failure, they added, also led to the cancellation of the Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s scheduled visit to the affected areas in Hyderabad.

The speakers stressing the need for preventive measures, in the wake of more rains forecast by the Met office, to prevent any further damage and devastation and to save the people from undergoing such miseries again.

They speakers termed the relief measures announced by the prime minister and chief minister ‘insufficient’. They, however, called for ensuring timely distribution of relief money and goods among the victims. They demanded stern action against those found guilty of negligence and dereliction of their duties.

The mover of the motion, Qamar Mansoor, and all other members of the treasury benches, except Imtiaz Ahmad Shaikh, were also critical of the district governments’ performance in mitigating the sufferings. Mr Shaikh, however, was of the view that there was no point in bring down the district or provincial governments for their poor performance. Abdullah Murad, pointing out the devastations from the rains, said that eight people had lost their lives in Gadap and lauded the role of the city district government, particularly of City Nazim Naimatullah Khan, who visited the affected families in the town.

Other MPAs, including Makhdoom Jamiluz Zaman, said that the districts governments had tried their level best to provide as much assistance as possible through all available resources.

Among other who spoke during the session were Irfan Gul Magsi, Nuzhat Pathan, Imtiaz Ahmad Shaikh, Nasreen Chandio, Mir Naseer Khan Khoso, Sassi Palejo and Fareeda Baloch.

The Speaker referred the privilege motion of Mir Muhammad Hassan Talpur to the privilege committee after listening to the Law Minister Iftikhar Chaudhry’s views to determine what privilege of the member was breached. The remedial would be submitted during the next session of the assembly.

Leader of the opposition Nisar Khuhro, on a point of order drew attention of the chair to a statement by Chief Minister Ali Mohammed Mahar which appeared in a section of the press about providing funds of Rs5 million to each MPA for development work. He denied having received any such funds and claimed none of his colleagues had either received the same. The speaker said that as the matter pertained to locus standi of the fund, a statement would be made on the floor of the House on Tuesday.

Earlier, when the session started with recitation from the Holy Quran and Na’at at 10.50am, Fateha was offered for the departed souls of the PAF chief, Mir Mashaf Ali, his wife and 15 other PAF officers who died in an aircrash. Fateha was also offered for the departed soul of the former MPA, Khalid Bin Walid, who was killed by unknown terrorists, ex-minister Abdullah J. Memon, Nabi Bux Bhutto, and those died in the recent rains.

Speaking on the occasion, the Leader of the Opposition, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, said offering Fateha for the deceased Khalid bin Waleed was not enough and called for the holding of a judicial inquiry.

“When the government could order judicial inquiry into the air crash, why could not it do the same in case of the legislators’ killing,” he questioned.

Responding to the demand of Mr Khuhro, Senior Minister Syed Sardar Ahmad said that there was no need for holding a judicial inquiry as the police were investigating the case. He pointed out that all the eyewitness of the murder were under police custody.

When the law minister was given the Floor by the Speaker, the former was upset so the extent that while referring to the tragic aircrash, he used the words ‘chief of the army staff’ instead of the ‘chief of air staff’ due to slip of tongue which provided a whip to the opposition. The opposition benches, particularly women MPAs, resorted to taunt the law minister.

To prevent the matter getting serious, the Speaker came to the rescue of the minister warning that if the opposition continued to create disorder, he would prorogue the session.

Soon after his warning, the Speaker turned to the other items of the agenda by announcing a panel of four chairmen, Dr Irfan Gul Magsi, Aslam Pervez, Dr Hameeda Khuhro and Fareeha Haroon, after which the Speaker informed the House that elections would be held on Monday for Senate members from Sindh. He said that balloting would be held from 9am to 4pm and as such the assembly session would not be held on Monday.