Assembly sees war of words over Thar situation

Opposition MPAs criticise govt inaction, ministers see conspiracy behind ‘media hype’.

KARACHI:

The reports of rising deaths of children in Thar led to a heated debate in the Sindh Assembly on Friday as opposition members demanded a bi-partisan commission to investigate the issue.

All the business of the assembly was deferred for the day to discuss the issue. As the opposition lambasted the government over its negligence, ministers and lawmakers from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) termed it a 'hype created by certain sections of the media' and said the situation is better than previous years.

Earlier, MPA Khurrum Sher Zaman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, while presenting fact and figures, said billions of rupees have been spent on reverse-osmosis (RO) plants, a majority of which are non-functional.  "People [of Thar] are deprived of all basic health facilities but, unfortunately, the government has turned a blind eye to it," he said. "Contaminated drinking water is one of the reasons behind the recent deaths. We need to check the water quality of the RO plants," he said.

Addressing the government, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPA said "Don't blame the midwives [for the deaths].  Your corrupt government is responsible."

PML-Functional's Mehtab Akbar Rashdi suggested boosting the local economy and promoting tourism. "Malnutrition is the main issue. The people have no money to fill their stomach," she said. "There has been a drought-like situation [in Thar] for years and deaths are reported annually since 2013. What kind of preventive measures have been taken to deal with the situation," she asked, alleging that the government has now become donor dependent and given up on finding a sustainable solution to the problem.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM) Rauf Siddiqui said, "If the situation can be made better on the Indian side of Thar then why not here," he said.

Deputy speaker Shehla Raza termed the criticism against her government a 'biased' attempt to create hype and referred to an international survey in which Pakistan was ranked among countries with the least newborn deaths. "If low-quality water is behind these deaths then why don't adults suffer from it," she questioned.

Food minister Nasir Hussain Shah said the incumbent government is revising the draft of the Sindh drought and mitigation policy after 117 years, and will soon table it in the assembly.

Mahesh Malani, the PPP lawmaker from Thar, said a road network of around 1,100 kilometres has been built to cater to 2,500 villages in Thar.



As jibes against the government continued, senior minister for education and parliamentary affairs, Nisar Khuhro, told speaker Agha Siraj Durrani that the chief minister wants to conclude the debate on Thar on Monday.  The speaker then adjourned the session, saying, "The health minister and opposition leader also want to speak on the issue so we will meet again on Monday."

'Terrorist' remarks expunged 

The session witnessed another pandemonium when Khuhro objected to opposition leader Khawaja Izharul Hasan's attempt to move a resolution on threats to educational institutes in Karachi. "Debate on Thar is already going on, so another resolution cannot be moved," said Khuhro.

MQM's Rauf Siddiqui then intervened and said, "Terrorists cannot wait for your rules." MQM lawmakers thumped their desks showing support for Siddiqui.

Senior finance minister Murad Ali Shah responded, "But the assembly cannot be run on the wishes of terrorists." As the PPP MPAs were thumping their desks to express support for Shah, MQM's Faisal Subzwari said, "During the ongoing operation many people have been declared terrorists and their financers under mala fide intentions." He urged the speaker to expunge Shah's remarks.

Afterwards, MQM lawmakers stood up and created uproar in the House over the statement. "I have not used these words for the MQM," the minister clarified. The speaker also pointed out Shah had responded to Siddiqui's remarks when he made the statement. "This is not against you but I am expunging the remarks," he said, assuring the opposition leader that his resolution will be looked into on Monday.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th,  2016.