KARACHI – Almost three years have passed since the PPP-led coalition government sent the dictatorial regime of former president Pervez Musharraf packing through a democratic process on February 18, 2008. However, nothing has actually changed when it comes to the ill-maintained notice boards placed, perhaps, for public information at various points across the country’s largest provincial legislature in Sindh.
The notice boards at the historical Sindh Assembly have not been updated for the last three years, a fact that, if seen in the backdrop of good governance, certainly puts to question the efficiency and seriousness of the democratic rulers and the bureaucracy.
The notice board, which is placed at the main lobby of the Assembly Secretariat, carries notices and newspaper clippings that date back to January 2007, whereas another notice board, which is placed at the entrance of the office of the USAID Pakistan at the assembly premises, could be found empty during a short visit to the site.
A thick layer of dust covering the board indicates that no notice has been put up on it for a long time. The notices, orders and news clippings on the board would mislead an ignorant reader into believing that Muzaffar Hussain Shah of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional – not Nisar Ahmed Khuhro of the PPP – is the sitting speaker of the Sindh Assembly. Similarly, according to the notices, General (retd) Pervez Musharraf is yet to be elected as the president of Pakistan.
An order issued by the then assembly speaker declared the Sindh Assembly Hall as a polling station for the election of the president during the presidential poll of October 6, 2007.
Another notice quotes Election Commission of Pakistan Public Relations Director Gul Akbar as asking the lawmakers to file their statements of assets and liabilities.
The news clippings report the January 10, 2007 visit of then outgoing US Ambassador Ryan C Crocker inaugurating the $8 million US-funded Parliamentary Information Technology Resource Center aimed at ensuring legislative excellence at the provincial assembly.
The notice board placed near the office of the USAID Pakistan has been without a notice for months and displays no information for the public. When asked why these boards were not updated, an official of the USAID Pakistan said that before updating, prior approval is required from the assembly speaker. The justification is likely to leave every sane person scratching their head as to how busy the honourable speaker, Nisar Khuhro, is that he does not find time to enable the assembly staff to update the notice boards.
One might wonder how these notice boards, an important source of public information that are placed at the main assembly lobby, which is a routine transit route for every legislator and assembly official, could go unnoticed for such a long span of time.
