Tuesday saw a huge hue and cry in the Sindh Assembly as the provincial lawmakers questioned the “permanent” occupation of VIP suites of the Islamabad-based Sindh House by high-profile federal bureaucrats.
“Yes, some government officials have permanently occupied some rooms of the Sindh House, Islamabad,” said Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, also the Sindh Works and Services Minister, in his written reply to a question of Member Provincial Assembly Fayaz Ali Butt.
It is interesting to note here that most of the occupiers of around 10 VIP rooms of the Sindh House have backing of either the Prime Minister House or the President House.
The occupiers named in the chief minister’s written reply include Nazir Ahmed Mallah, Chief Secretary Officer c/o President House; Ghulam Qadir Jamot, Director General Prime Minister’s Task Force; Jamil Soomro, Media Adviser c/o President House; Gul Khan Kaka, c/o President House; Syed Khalid Ali Raza Gardezi, Additional Secretary Finance, Sindh Services, General Administration and Coordination, Camp Islamabad; Muhammad Ishaque Lashari, Director General Admin President House; Bilal Sheikh, c/o President House; Muhammad Saleem Khan, Secretary Ports and Shipping Corporation; Abdul Ghaffar Soomro, Additional Secretary Minorities Affairs; and Ghulam Sarwar Dars, Personal Secretary to Minister for Overseas Pakistanis.
In response to supplementary questions of the members, Sindh Law Minister Ayaz Soomro, responding in place of the chief minister, said that the officials’ stay in the 27 VIP suites should normally range between two days and a fortnight, and that too with a cost.
While the law minister was in a defensive mood, lawmakers like Humera Alwani, Abdul Sattar Rajpar, Arif Mustafa Jatoi and Aleemur Rehman expressed concern over the permanent occupation of the rooms that they said were meant for the residence of officials from Sindh.
The speaker was critical when Soomro clarified that the suits’ occupation was taking place on an on-and-off basis and was not permanent.
Later, lawmakers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional objected as the entire proceedings of Tuesday, a private members day, were dedicated to general discussion on a resolution paying tribute to the late Pakistan People’s Party’s founding chairman Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
F-League’s Nusrat Sehar Abbasi was on her feet when the speaker was about to call it a day at around 2:00 pm, demanding that the members be allowed to table their private resolutions.
The speaker, however, rejected her request due to time constraints, thanks to the lawmakers who had arrived late.
The day had seen the speaker calling the provincial legislature to order at 11:30am, almost an hour and a half later than its scheduled time, 10am.
“What is our fault in this?” asked Abbasi, to which the speaker said, “We can’t run the house without members.”
The house, which was in session from 11:30am to 2:15pm, passed the most-discussed resolution in view of the late Bhutto’s 84th birth anniversary on January 5.
A short debate also took place in the house, with the members wanting the house to be adjourned until Friday, and the speaker insisting that Saturday should also be a working day in that case.
“It is in the rules,” Sindh Information and Electric Power Minister Shazia Marri was quick to remind the speaker, who then said that the house would meet again on Friday at 10am.
