PTI leader calls for imposition of emergency in Sindh

Sindh government filling its pockets with funds instead of investing in public welfare, claims PTI minister

KARACHI: As the Sindh Assembly session scheduled for Wednesday (today) was delayed to June 3, opposition leaders lashed out at the provincial government and called for the imposition of emergency.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, Sindh Assembly opposition leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi claimed that the situation in Sindh with regard to the pandemic was alarming and deteriorating rapidly.

He stated that opposition MPAs had submitted a requisition for the session, which mandated that the speaker called the session within the next 14 days. The delay, he insisted, was a severe violation of the rules of the provincial assembly.

He added that a meeting of the opposition leaders in the province would take place on Wednesday, where they would address the Sindh government's actions. He further appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take immediate action pertaining to the closed doors of the Sindh Assembly.

"Those who have been calling out Prime Minister Imran Khan for his decision to allow shopping malls to reopen are now silent on Supreme Court's orders," said Naqvi, adding, "Governor rule should be established in the province if the [Sindh] government cannot do anything."

He further alleged that Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah repeatedly asked the federal government for funds and pushed blame onto it if funds were not provided, adding that the provincial government had failed so far to share a plan on reviving Sindh's economy, which had been badly hit during the lockdown.

The Sindh government is filling its pockets with funds instead of investing them in public welfare, he claimed, adding that Article 235 of the Constitution gave the president the right to enforce a financial emergency.

According to Naqvi, the only members of the country truly serving the nation were doctors and healthcare officials.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2020.