KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly’s post-budget debate continued to spark intense discussions on its fourth day on Thursday, with opposition members voicing concern over the performance of the provincial government.

Members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) questioned the efficiency and capability of Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, suggesting the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership to consider replacing him.

Rashid Khan, MQM-P member from Hyderabad, came down heavily on the CM, who also holds the portfolio of finance ministry, and said the PPP had more capable members who could better handle the roles of chief minister and finance minister.

He said that two ministers and a special assistant to the CM belonged to Hyderabad, yet the city lacked basic civic, educational and health facilities.

Mr Khan said that there was little budget for the Civil Hospital of Hyderabad which lacked doctors and paramedical staff along with shortage of medicines.

However, he praised Senior Minister Sharjeel Memon for taking measures against drugs and narcotics when the former held the portfolio of excise, taxation, and narcotics control. “He did a good job against drugs, I don’t know why the excise ministry was taken back from Sharjeel Memon,” he added.

He said that the entire nation paid tribute to Field Marshal Asim Munir.

The MQM-P member said that the US President had said that it was an honour for him to meet Field Marshal Munir. “This statement has honoured Pakistan,” he added.

Provincial Minister for Women Development Shaheena Sher Ali highlighted that her ministry had built safe houses for women in different districts across the province.

She said that a play area for children inside the Darul Aman was being constructed. “Women’s Complex Sukkur and Women’s Complex Karachi will also be completed this year,” she said, adding that all ongoing schemes would be completed this year in the districts where there were no complaint centres.

The minister also said that small loans would be given to the women for small businesses.

Ismail Rahu of the PPP said that the opposition’s behaviour in the budget session was not democratic. He also pointed out water shortage and other civic problems in his constituency.

MQM-P’s Rehan Akram said that the provincial government had kept 90 per cent of the schemes for rural Sindh in its 17th budget.

He said that the Sindh government’s anti-corruption department had itself become a department of corruption, which had neither a minister nor a secretary.

The MQM-P member also mentioned the water crisis in his constituency and the problems of sewage.

Advisor to the Environment Dost Muhammad Rahman said that action was being taken against vehicles emitting excessive smoke in cities.

He also said that plastic bags had been banned in Sindh. “If the environment is to be kept better, more trees will have to be planted,” he said, adding that the PPP believed in serving the people.

MQM-P’s Muhammad Daniyal said that opposition members’ suggestions were not included in the budget in the pre-budget session of the Sindh Assembly.

He said that the condition of the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital was bad and there was no drinking water in the city while the mayor was saying that the roads in the metropolis would be washed with rose water.

PPP’s Fayyaz Butt paid tribute to the party leadership and the chief minister for presenting a “people-friendly budget” despite limited resources. He said that building 2.1 million houses for the flood victims was not an easy task, which the PPP did.

Provincial Minister for Labour Shahid Thahim said that Bilawal Bhutto will become the country’s prime minister.

He said that there was a lot of loadshedding in the rural areas of Sindh, and the Water and Power Development Authority officials had further increased it by two hours.

PPP’s Gianchand Asrani said that only the PPP protected the rights of minorities. There were so many schemes in the minorities department and there was no need to give more schemes, he added.

MQM-P’s Mahesh Kumar said that there were no such schemes for the minority community in the budget. He demanded that interest-free loans be given to minorities so that they could do some business.

Dr Fouzia Hameed called the provincial government’s financial plan a budget for the destruction of Sindh and said it did not benefit the people but only a few families.

She said that the chief minister held many ministries with him as if no one else was qualified for them.

Jamil Soomro of the PPP congratulated the CM and his team for presenting a “wonderful” budget and said that it had been a tradition that whenever the budget was presented, the opposition called it anti-people, although many taxes had been abolished in this budget.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (PTI-SIC) member Rehan Bandukda mentioned water shortage in his constituency, Defense Housing Authority.

He said the performance of the provincial government could be judged by the fact that Karachi was the fourth worst city in the world to live in.

PPP’s Taj Muhammad Mallah demanded that a law university be established in Badin district and National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases branch be established in the local hospital.

MQM’s Najam Mirza said that the budget was rubbing salt on the wounds of the people of Sindh. He said that it was a deception of statistics which had no relation to reality.

PTI-SIC’s Rehan Rajput said the Sindh government proudly presented a budget with a deficit of Rs38 billion. “The way the development money was allocated is a violation of the constitution,” he said, adding that 80 per cent of the budget was spent on a few departments.

Later, Acting Speaker Anthony Naveed adjourned the house to Friday.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2025