KARACHI, Nov 2: When the Sindh Assembly will commence its session on Friday, the opposition will certainly raise the issue of Bajaur massacre, besides a host of others including flawed voters’ list and law and order in the province. This was stated by leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, who is also a key leader of the Pakistan People’s Party, here on Thursday.
He said that the PPP’s Sindh Council had already deliberated upon various issues, concerning the people of Sindh, at its meeting in Shikarpur on Wednesday ahead of the assembly session and the upcoming by-election in that constituency.
He said the PPP’ parliamentary party would meet on Friday morning to work out its strategy for the remaining 18 days’ proceedings of the house during the current calendar.
Mr Khuhro observed that political environment in the country had undergone a qualitative change following the killing of innocent people in the unprecedented military operation carried out by the Pakistan army in Bajaur Agency. He felt that the treasury benches would try to bulldoze any opposition move in this regard.
He said that the PPP would also make sure that its resolution calling upon the Sindh government to demand compensation from the federal government for the losses suffered by the province due to short supply of water over the past several years was taken up in this session.
He said the demand in the draft resolution had been made in line with the award of Rs110 billion (with 10 per cent interest) to the NWFP as arrears of hydro-electric generation profits by a tribunal.
He said the opposition wanted the provincial assembly to resolve that just as the withholding of hydro-electric profits of the NWFP was a clear violation of the Constitution, the change of the procedure and formula for sharing water shortages specified under clause 4 (b) of the Inter-Provincial Water Accord 1991, the operation of reservoirs with priority to power generation instead of irrigation needs in violation of clause 14(c) of the Accord, the withholding of 10 MAF per year water supplies as escapage below Kotri under clause 7 of the Accord were also open violations of the accord.
Mr Khuhro said that the PPP would also raise the issue of discrepancy in voters’ lists and the poor relief and rehabilitation measures for the rain-affected people of Sindh.
He observed an increase in crime rate, particularly of street crime, and hoped that the assembly would consider this issue thoroughly especially at this stage when the federal government had also taken a serious note of the situation and the prime minister had even set a deadline (October 31, 2006) for the provincial government to eliminate street crime.