Sindh Assembly censures its opposition leader

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Sindh Assembly Tuesday adopted a censure motion against the opposition leader Muhammad Shaharyar Khan Mahar.

The censor motion was not on the agenda of the day, however, as the assembly was taking business of private resolution, PPPP lawmaker Mahar stood and requested the speaker to relax the rules to allow his tabling the censure motion.

Speaker Aga Siraj Durrani relaxed the rules and Dr Shoro tabled the resolution: “This House strongly condemns and censures Sindh Assembly Leader of Opposition Muhammad Shaharyar Khan Mahar for the gross disorderly behaviour of tearing the prestigious Book of Rules of Procedure of the provincial assembly of Sindh and throwing it away in the air. This is a dangerous trend towards damaging the parliamentary practices in democracy.”

However, the opposition members belonging to Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) strongly protested. They gathered at the dice of speaker and raised slogans of “No, No, No, Go, Go, Go”.

However, the House amidst this protest adopted the resolution. The PML-F and PML-N members continued their protest and the speaker adjourned the House.

Earlier, on Tuesday, when the session began, the speaker regretted that previous day the leader of the opposition and other members had violated the sanctity of the House and Book of Rules of Procedure. He asked them to tender apology before the House.

However, Mahar said that they did not violate the sanctity of the rules of procedure. He charged that the chair, itself, was violating the rules of procedure as the House was not being run as per these rules. He said the speaker should run the House as per rules.

However, after the session was adjourned, Mahar addressed a press conference in the premises of Sindh Assembly at the footsteps of old assembly building and harshly criticized the PPPP-led government in Sindh. He said this government has miserably failed to deliver in last seven years and not a single mega project was carried out in whole Sindh. He said as the PPPP had no performance to show to the people they are continuing their political survival with this type of dramas.

He said he regrets that the opposition members torn the copy of the book, but it was due to their extreme frustration, as the chair was what he called ‘biased’ and not giving them opportunity to speak in the assembly.

He charged that speaker Agha Siraj Durrani is politically biased as he is the sitting president of PPPP Larkana Division chapter. He asked how an office-bearer of a ruling party could act neutrally in assembly. He predicted that the days of the PPPP rule in Sindh were numbered and the Establishment would not rescue them this time, but instead the voters of Sindh would reject it in the coming general elections.

He said many PPPP politicians claim that they braved jail terms in past. He said they were jailed for their corruption and they could not pose them as political prisoners.

He said the censure motion against him was the part of ongoing political vendetta of the ruling party against him, but he would bravely face this conspiracy also.  He wished that the Sindh assembly could be run as per rules by a neutral chair, and not in the present dictatorial manner. On the occasion, Imtiaz Shaikh and Sorath Thebo also spoke.