To the desk thumping of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmakers, Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Qaim Ali Shah on Thursday presented an appraisal of his government’s three years in office at the in the Sindh Assembly session. The picture presented was of a hunky-dory province and government, of nothing much being wrong, of having entirely recovered from the floods of 2010. In reality, the CM’s speech was filled with inaccuracies and contradictions.
The CM argued that crime has been significantly reduced since 2008; He claimed improvement in law and order and especially mentioned significant reduction in street crime, vehicle snatching, kidnappings-for-ransom and highway robberies. However, he did not mention hundreds of people killed in targeted killings in the Karachi and tribal clashes in upper Sindh areas. Interestingly, two days ago, the house had agreed to debate the law and order situation on two consecutive days.
More than 65,000 jobs were created by the government, Shah claimed, but less than a mile away from the Assembly building, KESC workers were protesting their anticipated sackings at the Karachi Press Club. Shah also cited several achievements of the government in Education, Law and Order, Health, Community Development and Women’s Empowerment. Yet, the press gallery was rife with comments on how farcical his speech was sounding. Interestingly, while PPP lawmakers thumped their desks at every available opportunity, coalition partners were not as enthusiastic. Even more intriguing was the fact that Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro did not allow PPP lawmakers, or any others, to wax lyrical about the CM’s speech.
SINDH TOURIST GUIDES BILL-2011PASSED: The house unanimously passed the Sindh Tourist Guides Bill-2011; the bill seeks to regularise the role of tourist guides operating in the province, making them seek licenses to practice. Sindh Law and Tourism Minister Ayaz Soomro, Senior Education and Literacy Minister Pir Mazharul Haq, Electric Power Minister Shazia Marri and others spoke in favour of the bill. They said that the province has vast opportunities of tourism and proper guidance and monitoring of the sector was needed.
The tourism sector has been transferred from Centre to the provinces under 18th Constitutional Amendment. Pir Mazhar congratulated the law minister for being the first to legislate on one of the sectors devolved to the province.
RESOLUTION ON EMERGENCY CENTRES TO BE BUILT ON HIGHWAYS: The house also passed a resolution moved by MQM legislator Bilqees Mukhtar that recommended to the provincial government to build emergency centres at every 100 kilometres distance on the highway from Karachi to Obavro.
LAYING OF THE SINDH CIVIL SERVANTS (REGULARIZATION OF ABSORPTION) ORDINANCE-2011: The house carried an ordinance promulgated by Sindh Governor Dr Ishtul Ebad Khan on May 4 regarding the regularisation of services of employees absorbed in different departments of the provincial government. PML-F’s Marvi Rashdi wanted to move a resolution for disapproval of the ordinance, but the house rejected it with a majority vote. Rashdi’s contention was that the ordinance was promulgated unconstitutionally since the matter is sub judice.
ADJOURNMENT MOTION DISPOSED OF: Earlier, Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro disposed of an adjournment motion moved by another PML-F MPA, Nusrat Saher Abbasi, last Wednesday against the recent increase in power tariffs. The Speaker ruled the motion out, citing rulings given by the National Assembly in 1974 and 1969, which said that any adjournment based on press clipping is not admissible.
The speaker’s ruling came after a statement issued by Electric Power Minister Shazia Marri, who told the house that electricity was a federal subject, and the recent increase in power tariffs would only affect the rich and not the common man. The increase, she argued, was because the Federal government had reduced subsidy on electricity.
