Naqvi hands in resignation as opposition leader to PA secretary

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi confirmed on Wednesday that he had submitted his resignation as the opposition leader in Sindh Assembly to the provincial assembly secretary Umar Farooq Abro.

Speaking to the media after submitting his resignation, Naqvi said, "The party is more important to me than the post. I am willing to work [for it] as a common member."

He added that he had submitted his resignation out of his own will and the statement he had given after sending his resignation to the party leadership earlier this month was "distorted."

Back then, The Express Tribune had quoted Naqvi as saying "I have decided to resign for certain reasons, which will become apparent with the passage of time."

'PA has lost its sanctity'

On Wednesday, Naqvi also criticised the Sindh government for its "poor performance", and Durrani for his behavior towards opposition parties in the Sindh Assembly.

Read Centre acting like stepmother to Sindh: Sharjeel

"This assembly [Sindh Assembly] has lost its sanctity. The voice of the opposition is continually suppressed here," he remarked, claiming that treasury members did not let the opposition play its role in the provincial assembly.

Moving on to censuring Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, the former opposition leader complained, "The charter of democracy calls for handing over the Public Accounts Committee - the provincial legislative watchdog - to the Opposition, but the directives issued by [late] Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto [at the time of the signing of the charter] are not being implemented."

He went on to claim, "It is not just that there is no representation [of the opposition] in standing committees, but not a single private members' day was allowed to progress."

"The Sindh Assembly is not playing the role an assembly is supposed to play and is dominated by dictatorship," Naqvi further alleged, adding that "If they [treasury members] want to restore the honour of the assembly, the must ensure the opposition's participation in standing committees."

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2021.