The first day of the Sindh Assembly’s new parliamentary year on Monday saw the provincial legislature condoling the death of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmaker Abdul Salam Thaheem as well as those who died in a recent plane crash, in the Siachen avalanche and in the fresh spate of targeted killings in Karachi.
Extending heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased, the provincial lawmakers reassembled at the Sindh Assembly Building, but soon dispersed after Speaker Nisar Khuhro called it a day to commemorate the death of Thaheem as per the assembly’s past traditions.
With many of the 168 members raising their hands to speak on the series of national tragedies, the chair paid homage to the late Thaheem whose untiring efforts for the supremacy of democracy, Khuhro said, were matchless.
After emerging from a small village of Sindh, the veteran politician had always resisted the dictatorial injustices of his time, the speaker recalled.
Khuhro reminded the house of its tradition of an early adjournment of the house in the sitting following the demise of a lawmaker. He adjourned the house until 9:30 am Tuesday, which is to be a private members day.
Earlier, Sardar Ahmed of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Rafiq Engineer of the PPP, Nusrat Sehar Abbasi of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) and Sindh Law & Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ayaz Soomro took the floor to record their condolences to the bereaved families.
The agenda items for the day included an adjournment motion of PML-F’s Marvi Rashdi and the announcement by the speaker of Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan’s assent to the Syed Abdullah Shah Institute of Medical Sciences Bill-2012. The question hour was related to the ministries of Youth Affairs and Zakat & Ushr.
